Yes they can. And according to the latest research, they do it as effectively as medications.
This is great news for people like me who love a sneaky disco nap. And it’s great news for any of you taking blood pressure medication. After all, who wouldn’t love to be taking less medications!
In a 2019 article on the website MedicalNewsToday, 212 people were studied. These were not the healthiest people – average age of 62, plenty of smokers and people with type 2 diabetes. Yet even with these complicating factors, the study found …

I saw an interesting article recently which I thought I would share with you all. In the article, 5 experts were asked whether they thought it was safe and advisable to give painkilling medications to children. The people asked included a paediatrician, pain specialist, pharmacist and anaesthetist.
They mostly agreed that it was but had certain contingencies on that.
Some choice quotes:
Caregivers have to ensure, however, the child is carefully monitored and dosage is very carefully calculated and delivered safely. A child in pain is no less than an adult in pain, …

Super exciting news! We have a Myotherapist joining the clinic! Jess Goodwin is a Sports Therapist who studied in the UK before moving to Sydney and setting up Sydney Sports Therapy in Oatley. A Sports Therapist is the UK equivalent of a Myotherapist.

Myotherapists do university degrees studying how to diagnose and treat soft tissue injuries, so they’re basically the most highly qualified massage therapist you will ever see. I love seeing them myself so I’m really happy we are going to have one here!

There aren’t many Myotherapists here in …

A recent article on the Sydney Morning Herald website has summarised “the best available research on preventing cognitive decline and dementia”.
There are a variety of recommendations based on statistical data showing the common traits and pastimes of Australians. The researchers looked at the behaviours of people who went on to develop dementia and tried to find the differences between them and people who did not, to see what might make a difference, and why.
According to the article “more than a third of Australians aged between 70 and 90 will develop …

A new study suggests that it might be! According to an article on the New York Times website this week, “People who regularly run or walk briskly appear to have healthier discs in their spines than people who do not exercise”.
The article cites a study performed in Australia where researchers recorded the weekly mileage of runners and compared that to MRI images of their lower backs.
They found that “the runners’ discs were larger and contained more fluid than the discs of the men and women who did not exercise.” These are both …

There has been a lot of research over the years on the best way to warm up. Athletes want to know the right way to do it so that they can do their best performance when it counts. But it’s equally important to be able to reduce the risk of injury so you can run hard without hurting yourself. Is there a way to warm up that achieves both goals – optimal performance and minimal risk of injury? Should you do static stretching or dynamic stretching? Should you jog and …

In my work with athletes, ranging from park runners up to World and Olympic champions, one of the key differences I’ve seen that separates the elite is that they know when to push themselves, and they know when to back off. They know that missing half a session because you’re concerned about an injury is better than pushing on, getting hurt, and then missing an entire week, if not more. The number one priority, no matter what event you are training for, is to get to the starting line in …

As you saw in my previous article , breathing can help improve the tone of the Vagus Nerve. This has been linked to reduced stress and anxiety levels, reduced heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and even reduced risk of dying from cancer.
A 2016 article talked more about the link between stress and cancer, saying that stress acts as a ‘fertiliser’ by increasing the number of lymphatic vessels draining from the tumour, but increase flow in existing vessels. “So not only do you get new freeways out of the tumour but …

My number 1 health tip for 2015 was to MOVE MORE, and no doubt you would’ve seen one of the countless articles talking about how bad prolonged sitting is for your health. Some articles called prolonged sitting worse for your health than smoking or obesity, and 60 Minutes did a great story which I posted outlining the benefits of moving more.
If 2015 was all about MOVING, 2016 is all about BREATHING. Well, breathing and Bruno Mars. I love that guy.
When we talk about breathing, in very basic terms we are …

An article in The New York Times this week has shed light on the changes that take place in the brain in response to exercise. The story focused on a series of brain scans performed on a lady who started exercising at the age of 77 and went on to set numerous world records in masters track and field competition.
In short, when compared to other 90 somethings who were studied, her brain showed:
Fewer abnormalities in the white matter (the cells that help to transmit messages from one part of the …