Please see Susi's New Year message below!

MS Physio Page

Thought it was about time to introduce myself, Susi Storey, the lead physiotherapist in MS on the Island (that's me on the left!). I have been in post since September 2005 and I am working very closely with Debbie and the rest of the team based here at the King Edward. I have been working on the Island for 7 years both privately and for the Guernsey Physiotherapy Group and have had a lot of experience with neurological condition since qualifying over 20 years ago.

What can we do for you!

Our aim is to meet everyone and to offer advice about posture, exercise and how to cope with home life or work, seating, transfers etc. We are here to help you and those who may be caring for your needs. As is the nature of MS, situations can change quite quickly and you may need advice about how to cope with a particular aspect of your mobility at that time. Once you are under the MS service umbrella you are entitled to free and direct access to us at any time, no matter how simple your request may seem. Together as a team we want you to know there are a group of people ready to support you whenever you need us to. You can contact me on 07781 132 315 or through Debbie.
Sometimes we can struggle on and get into bad habits especially with our walking pattern and develop tight structures and shortened soft tissues, which can effect us in the long term. Some times, those looking after us are doing transfers that could be more efficient if we could offer advice. It may be that your MS has a small effect on your mobility at the moment, but you would like an assessment to help you know what areas to work on in the gym. After making initial contact I will be happy to see you for a short course of Physio and, if appropriate, to work on one specific area i.e. your balance. Then I will be happy to review how you are 6 months or a year down the line if you have no other issues in between. We are very fortunate to be able to offer this service so please do make use of us. I will be contributing "Healthy Tips" to the newsletter regularly and happy to address any issues you would like me to in the future.
Susi

By now I think I have made contact with all of you who have wanted to meet me! But just in case you didn't realise, we are here and available to give you any advice or help on any mobility subject. All you have to do is give me a call - it is a free service.

This year we have decided to start some very gentle exercise classes aimed at encouraging those of you who are predominantly in wheelchairs to keep working on your core stability and balance, and upper limb strength. This has come about from the coffee afternoons we have had at the Les Coitils and the recognition that it is much easier to do regular exercise sometimes together.

It will be held in the gym here at the King Edward so there will be the opportunity for those of you who want to stand in the parallel bars to do so at the end.

It will start at 2.00 and finish at 3.00. We will end with a cup of tea or cold drink and a chance for a quick chat.! Come and see what you think. The dates are below.

You can always ring me to find out more. We may have to limit numbers as the gym can accommodate probably 10 at most

Susi 07781132315

Autumn 2007 Physio update.

Hello again everyone. There have been quite lot of changes in terms of staff helping me to provide a service for you since we started almost 2 years ago. But now it is just simply me and as always I am available to help you in any way I can as I wrote in the original article.

I run a monthly class on Thursday pm for people who are predominantly wheelchair bound and no longer working. This is open to anyone interested but if you have not been before I may like to meet you first to make sure it?s the right place for you .Details are available when and where on the website.

I have been visiting some of you that I know with a machine called a ?Cough Assist? recently. This is a piece of equipment that the hospital now has and uses when people are finding it difficult to cough effectively. Basically it assists in delivering a deep breath in under pressure, and then a fast breath out [A bit like a vacuum cleaner] which stimulates a cough reflex and enables people to bring secretions up into their mouth so that they can be removed or swallowed. Unfortunately we only have one of these machines but I have been taking it to selected people to try it in their own home so that should they ever be admitted with a chest infection and problems, they will already be confident in using this device. It also has the ability to be used just to promote assisted deep breathing which I know for many of you is exhausting, but important to do to maintain good lung capacity and respiratory muscle strength.

We were hoping to be able to train carers to use the cough assist at home,so they could borrow it, for when people were struggling with chest infections,as it is very simple to use, but this idea is still waiting for approval.

One thing that has come to my attention whilst talking to people about good positioning ,changes in tone,fatigue and weakness etc, is the effects that all these can have upon the quality of relationships within couples.All of us need to work at relationships and they become even more important when coming to terms with one partner having MS . Without wishing to shock anyone it is also true to say that being intimate sexually with your partner, if you are coping with severe increase tone in your legs, or if you have a supra pubic catheter, or if your sensation is altered,can put added stress on relationships. While looking on the multiple Sclerosis Trust link, on the interactive site,under chat rooms, I came across the transcripts of a call-in where members of the public with MS were invited to ask specialists for advise and help on this very sensitive subject. The questions were very far reaching and are recorded and the advise given so that you can look at them in your own time and privacy. You may find it very helpful.

It is always difficult to talk about such things, sometimes even as couples to one another. It is easy for confused and mixed messages to be given and received. There are very few people trained on the island to give help. So this is a good opportunity to realise that the problems you may be dealing with are shared by a lot of others and there may be things you can do to try to help. I hope some of you will try the site and find it helpful.

Please remember you can always contact me on the telephone number listed.Enjoy the rest of the summer.