The Importance Of Understanding Your Body and Going The Distance: Nutrition is now a personal passion I have. For many years, I could eat most things. But it hasn't always been smooth sailing. You see as a newly qualified neurophysio 1-year post qualification; I developed a back injury that resulted in a prolapsed disc in my lower spine at L4. I couldn't sit for 6 months and I had permanent muscle spasm 24 hours a day. I learnt what it was like to be in constant pain and how to manage it. I experienced the joys of pain medication and how it affects your bowels. My back injury affected my bladder such that I had stress incontinence. I had to have urodynamic tests and retrain my bladder over time. 

I lived back rehabilitation for 6 months every day before being able to drive my own car again.  I knew what it felt like to be driven around in my own car and believe me for an independent butterfly like me, at the time, this was one of the most frustrating things ever. 

My sleep-wake cycle was out of whack and I needed 4 pillows to get comfortable. I moved and repositioned myself every hour and when I couldn't sleep I'd be pacing up and down the corridor!!! Bathing became my favourite pass time as I wanted heat constantly to manage my back spasm. I went for physio and in the beginning, for the first 3 months, the only relief I left was whilst lying on the physio table. Yes, you heard me correctly... But I kept going. 

In Physio school, I learnt about the body, the core, the spine, but this was a whole other level of education as I got introduced to my spine, pelvis, core and body on a much more 1-2-1 level. And after 7 months of back rehab, with swimming daily, doing mat based pilates rehab twice weekly and physio twice weekly; I could return to work. This experience has made me a better physio, because not only can I empathise with clients, but I actually draw on this first-hand experience in many of my 1-2-1 rehabilitation sessions with my neuro clients. 

Looking back I can now see the importance of taking the time to really get in tune with my body and my back during my rehabilitation because there with things that worked for my back and things that didn't work for my back. It was important to try them all and focus on the things that worked and exclude the things that made my back worse. But I would not have known which things to exclude if I didn't try them first. Here is where it can really feel like taking 2 steps forward, and 1 step back with each thing that is tried but the long-term gain outweighs the short-term struggle. I now have a range of things to draw on and try that works for me. I love being able to share with my clients both what did and didn't work for me, because there are big gems in this as something that didn't work for me could actually work for someone else. Don't be shy to share your experience or journey of what has and hasn't worked for you. This might just be the 'medicine' that could be useful for someone else.

My Journey With Nutrition To Optimal Health: What I didn't know for many years after this, was that all the anti-inflammatory medication I needed to use to manage my pain and back spasm on a daily basis over the long-term affected my stomach and 6 years later my journey with Leaky Gut Syndrome started. I did all the exclusion diets, liver detoxes, the 4R program (Remove, Repair, Reinoculate and Restore). 

16 years ago, I started my own personal journey with my own nutrition and what I've learnt through reading, researching, talks, courses, books as well as my own personal experience has shaped me as a person and a Neurophysio today. 

But I never completely excluded gluten completely and on special occasions, I would have some and thought I could get away with it. And 16 years ago, I struggled with fatigue, brain fog, tiredness and so my journey with cutting out gluten wheat and dairy started. The changes I experienced in my energy levels, having more energy to get through the day with ease, being able to think more clearly were 3 of many changes I experienced for the better. I had gluten sensitivity and allergy tests done and they came back negative for the coeliac. But I knew I had gluten sensitivity because I'd be slow, lethargic, and have brain fog for 1-2 days after eating gluten. This was where I started to listen to my body about how food made me feel after everything I ate. I quickly learnt that I'm gluten wheat, dairy and yeast intolerant.

I started listening acutely to my body to the subtle messages it gave along the way. In the beginning, I only heard when my body was shouting at me that it wasn't happy with me and what I ate at the time. Over the past 15 years, my acute awareness has been cultivated further where I now listen to the subtle whispers my body gives. Body wisdom is so important. All it takes is the willingness to want to change and the motivation to take the daily action steps to listen when your body speaks. Everything gets better with practice. 

I am now an expert on me.. my nutrition, what supports me and what doesn't. This didn't happen overnight. This required patience, motivation to want to feel better, a willingness to change the situation and a drive to keep going against all odds. I see rehabilitation in the same light and the importance of nutrition in neurorehabilitation is often overlooked and not focussed upon. I love empowering all my clients to champion their own nutrition journey and explore what works and doesn't work for each of them.