Cancer Council Australia is inviting you to join the #SunSmartGeneration

With summer arriving Action week is an important reminder to all Australian’s about the 5 forms of sun protection;

Slip in sun-protective clothing
Slop on SPF30 (or higher) broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen
Slap on a broad-brimmed hat
Seek shade
Slide on sunglasses

Did you know that two in three Australian’s are diagnosed with skin cancer by age 70?

Being sun smart, getting to know your skin and checking it regularly for changes is vital in reducing your risk of skin cancer.

Some helpful tips for looking after your skin include;

Protect Yourself

-Avoid activities during peak UV radiation (between 10am – 3pm).
-Wear long sleeves, sunglasses and broad-spectrum sunscreens to reduce direct sun exposure
-Choose the correct sunscreen type for the activities that you’re doing.

Check yourself

-Know your skin by checking your moles and spots regularly.
-Get a partner or friend to help you check those hard to reach areas.

The RED flags

The ABCDE criteria are a useful guide to detecting melanomas and some skin cancers. These are not fool proof, but a good place to start.
As a general rule, any lesion that is not healing back to completely normal skin within 4 weeks should be a concern.

A Asymmetry of appearance – If one half looks different to the other.
B Border or edge irregularity.
C Changing colours – either having multiple colours or losing colour.
D Diameter greater than 6mm (particular new lesions).
E Evolution – becoming raised, itchy, painful, bleeding or just looks different.

Remember, if you are concerned about any lesion, you should have it reviewed by either your GP or a Dermatologist.

Thanks to Oxford Dermatology, Mount Hawthorn for providing these helpful tips.

To support the #SunSmartGeneration or find out more information about National Skin Cancer Action Week visit http://www.cancer.org.au/  

At least 45% of us will experience a mental illness at some stage of our lives and that’s just anxiety, mood disorders and addictions in people aged 16 to 85 years. Include young people and children, schizophrenia, eating disorders and personality disorders and the figures are much higher.

The Act-Belong-Commit campaign from Mentally Healthy WA summarises three core components important in promoting good mental health:

Act: Physical activity and exercise are important factors in promoting good mental health both from a neurobiological and psychosocial perspective. Mind and body are seamlessly connected and a simple daily walk can impact on mood and stress in a positive way.

Belong: Social connectedness is a good predictor of positive mental health. People are social creatures and social isolation is not only a contributor to poor mental health but also a symptom.

Commit: Being a part of something community focussed that gives an individual some ‘meaning’ and ‘sense of value’ helps with esteem, confidence and positive mood. Volunteering, contributing to a cause and regular community participation all assist with mental health outcomes.

There are lots of ways that you or your organisation can get involved to raise awareness for mental health. With over 60 events happening all around WA this year head over to https://mhw.waamh.org.au/ & http://www.actbelongcommit.org.au/ to find the closest one near you.

For 24 hour support for mental health difficulties call Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline 13 11 14.

Whether you are pregnant, trying to conceive, have a newborn baby, have children or have no children, every woman can benefit from seeing a Women’s Health Physiotherapist.

A Women’s Health Physiotherapist is a post graduate trained practitioner who treats a multitude of problems affecting women through all life’s stages. Common presentations include:

• Urinary and Faecal Incontinence Urinary Urge and Frequency
• Pelvic Organ Prolapse
• Constipation
• Diastasis Recti (Abdominal Separation)
• Musculoskeletal pain or injury (e.g back, pelvis, hips)
• Internal pelvic pain
• Sexual pain or dysfunction
• Breast engorgement/Mastitis
• Post baby recovery

A session with a specialised Physiotherapist involves a thorough discussion with you about your complaint, a whole-body assessment looking at your posture and alignment and an internal and/or external examination to evaluate your pelvic floor and how it interacts with the rest of your body.

The pelvic floor is a dynamic set of muscles that sit at the base of your pelvis. They provide support to the pelvic organs, stabilise the lower back and pelvis, play a role in sexual function and control the openings during toileting. For one reason or other, overtime as a society we have learnt to hold and tense our pelvic floor and core in attempt that it will provide support to the rest of our body. This poor pelvic floor muscle control and imbalance is often the root cause of many Women’s Health symptoms like leakage and pain. Properly controlling the pelvic floor and core muscles involves knowing how to fully relax these muscles as well as contracting them and most importantly how to engage them correctly through movement.

So how do I know if I need to see a Women’s Health Physiotherapist?

Common signs and symptoms of a problem with your pelvic floor that should be further evaluated include:

• Accidentally leaking urine (a little or a lot) when you exercise, laugh, cough or sneeze
• Needing to go to the toilet in a hurry or not making it there in time
• Needing to go to the toilet frequently
• Difficulty emptying your bladder or bowel
• Accidental loss of faeces or wind
• A prolapse – this may feel like a heaviness, pulling down, dragging sensation or a bulge in the vagina may be felt or seen
• Pelvic pain
• Pain during or after intercourse
• Poor bladder sensation  
• Not being able to achieve the flat abs that you dream about (AKA not engaging your core to its best potential)

Again, our society has slowly but surely normalised pelvic floor problems (especially leakage) and the symptoms mentioned above have been brushed under the carpet as normal occurrences following pregnancy, childbirth and ageing. These problems are certainly common, but they are not normal no matter how many ads you see on television promoting sanitary pads for leakage.

Current research shows that most pelvic problems are treatable and in fact curable no matter what age you are and how long you have had your symptoms for. In fact, research has shown that Women’s Health Physiotherapy is the gold standard first line treatment for these symptoms ahead of any other intervention including surgery.

If you suspect you have a pelvic floor problem or you would like more information on what a Women’s Health Physiotherapist does, please contact Shelley Kennedy from Nest Physiotherapy or visit her website www.nestphysiotherapy.com.au.