Chronic Pain written on a cream background. Three cartoons show graphics representing pain with characters curled up surrounded by lightning bolts.

Understanding Pain Part 2: Chronic Pain

Hello again everyone. I hope you enjoyed learning all about pain in my last blog! That was just a basic overview of pain in general. This time I want to talk about chronic pain and central sensitisation. Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of what happens and why. Before coming on this placement,…Continue reading Understanding Pain Part 2: Chronic Pain

Link between neurodiversity and hypermobility written over an image of a woman bending forwards to stretch and a head silhouette with a rainbow infinity symbol in it.

Link Between Neurodiversity and Hypermobility

Having a chronic illness like a hypermobility disorder commonly comes with different co-morbidities. Dysautonomia problems like PoTS, chronic fatigue and pain, gastrointestinal problems, and visual stress just to name a few. A few co-morbidities that are commonly seen in people with hypermobility is neurodivergent conditions like Autism (ASD) and ADHD. In this blog post I…Continue reading Link Between Neurodiversity and Hypermobility

#HypnOT session 3 – Chronic Pain

Welcome back to #HypnOT. Session 3 focuses on understanding and managing Chronic Pain. Kim (Online Psychotherapist) explains a little about how pain impacts our brains and cognition. I share some useful tips for managing the symptoms and limiting the impact on your quality of life. This video was recorded live via Facebook Livestream then uploaded…Continue reading #HypnOT session 3 – Chronic Pain

handwriting tips & tools

Handwriting Tips and Tools

Handwriting was always something I wished I was good at. I would watch my friends develop elegant and individual writing styles with envy. In my case, I simply wished I could get to the bottom of the page without my hands hurting. Gripping the pen so tightly it left dents in my fingers. Always having…Continue reading Handwriting Tips and Tools

The Problem with Pain Scales

Throughout my Occupational Therapy training and my short but already meaningful career I’ve heard two key phrases in relation to OT. ‘Holistic’ and ‘Client centred’ .. even as students who struggled to explain exactly what being an OT involved we all knew that we had to practice holistically and be client centred [1]. So, we…Continue reading The Problem with Pain Scales

Flare Up Planning With Shona

Flare Up Planning with Shona

Something a little different for this blog post. I recently had the pleasure of working with Shona of My Marfan Life. Here, she share’s her experiences working with me and a bit about her life with Marfan Syndrome. “Recently I had the pleasure of having a 30 minute consultation with Jo to create a flare up…Continue reading Flare Up Planning with Shona

Ableism in the media ‘Anyone can run a marathon’

Earlier today I was watching the London Marathon. The commentator repeatedly emphasised that ‘anyone can run the London Marathon’ all you need is ‘enough training and enough belief’. I let this sink in for a bit and decided that I couldn’t stay quiet. I was encouraged by a friend to share what I thought. What absolute…Continue reading Ableism in the media ‘Anyone can run a marathon’

Travel with a variable health condition

Planning a holiday or a day out should be exciting but for many people with variable illnesses or disabilities it can be pretty daunting. To be honest, planning anything can be pretty daunting. I’ve lost count of the number of events I’ve called off at the last-minute.  For any new visitors to my blog, I…Continue reading Travel with a variable health condition

Chronic Pain – What does it actually feel like?

This is something I’ve been meaning to write about for a long time. While doing my dissertation before christmas I repeatedly read that most newly qualified healthcare professionals do not have a modern understanding of pain. I reviewed 9 articles for my dissertation, one common theme was the negative patient experience. Patients not feeling validated,…Continue reading Chronic Pain – What does it actually feel like?