Jasmine Health Care

01/10/2026

What is "chair glue"?

When I tried a "chair glue" experiment in a lecture with fit young uni students in the audience, it seemed possible that someone would prove the theory wrong and with strong, youthful muscles would stand up despite the difficulty. But no-one did.

The audience had been asked to sit back in their chairs then stand up without leaning forward. They tried, they didn't move, they laughed and learned something about natural human movement that day.

But why couldn't they do it?
Because human beings don't actually stand straight "up".

What we really do is:

1. Scoot our bottom forward towards the edge of our chair
2. Lean a L-O-N-G way forward, head overshooting well past the knees to bring our weight forward and initiate lift-off.
3. Transfer our weight onto our feet in a sort of standing crouch.
4. Straighten our knees and trunk to come up into a standing position.

We can use our arms for extra strength.

Getting up from a chair starts with moving forward then up, so when people were asked to leave out the forward movement, no-one could stand up.

"Chair glue is real"!

Try it yourself - would you agree that nature's designs are endlessly fascinating?

29/09/2026

When helping someone to stand up it can seem natural to use their natural "handles", their arms.
It's a common enough practice but this is in fact lifting a person up instead of encouraging them to keep doing it themselves in their own way.
When we help a person to standing by giving them an extra lift through the arms, we diminish their ability to keep finding a way to get up by themselves, even if they are slow to do this.
Lifting people is also a designated hazardous manual handling practice, especially to the lifter. What we don't realise when we start helping someone up, is that we are starting a bad habit.
It starts Innocuously, in a caring way or to hurry them up, and can even feel like the right thing to do.
However, your hand under their arm is the beginning of the road to increasing dependency on the part of the person being lifted.
It's also the beginning of you taking their weight through your own body, and will often lead to injury.
When I show carers some of the other ways to get a person to stand, they are often amazed to even think there are other options. And it's not as hard as you might think.
So If you are interested and would like to know more, please reach out via the Jasmine Health Care website https://lnkd.in/gU8zkc7V or on 0400 216 543
handling

24/09/2026

Multiple sclerosis can cause symptoms like fatigue, pain and dizziness which may vary from day to day.
This can shift the goalposts for physical activity and exercise - if they are done too intensely it can lead to exhaustion.
So it's vitally important to know what and how much to do.
An individualised program supported by a physiotherapist can make exercise safer and more effective.

Then exercise doesn't have to be abandoned when it's challenging. Instead it can mean adjusting the dose.

What does that look like?:

• Exercising for a shorter time
• Reducing the resistance or reps
• Exercise snacking - small amounts in one day
• Different types of exercise
• Exercising at a cooler time of day
• Taking longer rest periods

Using a Rate of Perceived Exertion scale can be really helpful. It can allow a physiotherapist to help develop a program that gives the person an immediate way of recognising for themselves when they are near their own personal limit. Then there are different options to choose from. It can mean less frustration and disappointment, and more achievement of important goals.

A good exercise plan that is fitted to the person — not the other way round, can allow them to become both confident and masterful.
It can be done F2F and may also be very effective via telehealth.

If this topic is something you have a personal interest in, don't hesitate to reach out via the Jasmine Health Care website or a phone call on 0400 216 543



https://www.msif.org/about-ms/symptoms-of-ms/fatigue/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "MS Fatigue"

22/09/2026

When you have MS, exercise might not be the first thing you think about when planning your best life. However, it's been consistently proven that the right exercise does really improve how you feel and function.
You can workout at home or at the gym, but often knowing the right type of exercise to do and what to avoid will make a difference.
If you would like to know more, please don't hesitate to reach out online or via a phone call to 0400 216 543. It's always great to chat in order to move forward!

15/09/2026

A recently published review looked at “exercise snacking”, short bursts of specific exercise spread throughout the day.

Instead of setting aside 20 or 30 minutes, you might:
* Do several sit-to-stands after breakfast
* Practise heel raises while waiting for the kettle to boil
* Use dumbbells for two arm exercises before lunch
* Add a brief balance exercise to another daily routine

The review included 16 studies and found that exercise snacking appears to be generally safe and acceptable. It may help improve strength, balance and mobility, while being easier to fit into daily life.

This particularly for people who find a longer exercise program tiring, overwhelming or difficult to maintain.

Althoug we do not yet know whether exercise snacking is better than traditional exercise over the long term, it may make exercising easier if it fits naturally into a person’s day.

A small amount of well-chosen exercise, repeated regularly, may be better than a more time consuming program that rarely gets done.

Have you tried anything like exercise snacking, yourself? What are your thoughts?

Research article: [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08215-x](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08215-x)

10/09/2026

Walking is great, but can it also maintain balance as we grow older?

I often meet older adults who walk regularly and feel the wonderful physical and mental benefits. Walking supports cardiovascular health, endurance, confidence and independence.

But with 1 in 3 people aged 65+ likely to fall each year, balance training becomes important too.

Good balance depends on leg strength, flexibility, reaction speed, coordination, vision, sensation and the capacity to adjust when the surface or situation changes.

Balance depends on multiple systems, including:
* The vestibular system in the inner ear, helping the brain sense head movement and position.
* The visual system, updating the brain on where the body is in relation to its surroundings and whether either is moving.
* Proprioception, the body’s ability to sense movement and where its joints and limbs are, without needing to look.

A physiotherapist's skill is to provide the right exercises for balance, for example in a group class, or when working with one person. They must accurately assess which system/s to work on to improve balance, then design the right program.

While a daily walk is recommended, mobility and safety are both improved by adding strength and balance exercises.

Good balance can make everyday activities like getting out of a chair, negotiating a step, carrying shopping or moving confidently around the home—feel more manageable.

Enhancing lives of older Australians through expert physio & care. Let’s move better, together. 💚

03/09/2026

If you're considering telehealth physiotherapy via video or even a phone call, it's good to know what to expect. There are many similarities with a clinic consultation. Here's a guide to Jasmine Health Care's telehealth physio:
Your session will be at a time that suits you. We will often ask you some prior questions about your current condition and general health.
The first consultation is normally a comprehensive initial assessment to:
· Identify the exact problem, establish a diagnosis and any underlying issues
· Understand your condition and goals
· Carry out a physical examination through a series of questions and actions done together, using your feedback plus visual information via video or photo images. This includes area(s) of pain, swelling, strength, balance and range of motion.
• Agree on the best plan for going forward
Pain management, mobility and practical advice are often similar to clinic visits, plus we can better understand how you are able to function in your home.
Telehealth can be great for supervised exercise, strength and balance training, and for long-term conditions like Parkinson's disease, OA, gaining muscle strength and before or after joint-replacement surgery.
Your physiotherapist will consider your individual needs and advise whether telehealth, an in-person appointment, or a combination of both is recommended.

With a smartphone, tablet or computer, physiotherapy support may be closer than you think.

01/09/2026

Sometimes it's hard to physically get to a clinic, or maybe you haven't found the right exercise group nearby.
It can be easier and effective to access a private or group telehealth session via your smart device or laptop.
Having physiotherapy input into the program you do at home can make a big difference.
Telehealth physiotherapy has been show to be appropriate for:

• People with chronic conditions such as Parkinson’s disease who have a specific type of program
• Recovery after injury or illness including Long Covid
• Preparing for, or recovering from, hip or knee replacement surgery
• Improving your general strength, balance and confidence, including after a fall

During a telehealth consultation, a physiotherapist can listen in order to learn what is happening for you, observe how you move and how it ties in with what you are experiencing and show you how to make positive changes. These can help you progress faster.

It's also been shown that interactions between physio and client, in between sessions, happen more often with telehealth.

Telehealth is well suited to a raft of conditions but of course there are some which require a face-to-face consultation. We can advise you if that is the case.
Meanwhile, for many people, telehealth physiotherapy can be a practical and effective way to keep moving towards your goals.
It can help improve strength, movement and confidence—from your own home.

24/08/2026

When helping an older person to remain physically active, it really helps to notice what they do well, not just what has become difficult. Doing this gives a person somewhere positive to begin and to return to.
Doing something that we enjoy can make exercise enjoyable and more satisfying, rather than daunting and demoralising.

We all prefer things we are good at, and perhaps you remember hiding from the selection process for certain activities at school, be it drama, sport or public debating, if you thought you weren't any good at it. We don't change just because we are a few decades older.

Physiotherapy can look at the whole person, and use their strengths as a way to improve overall function.
If a person loves to walk but gets back pain when they do too much, a short walking course can be a great start.
Or if they have always been a cyclist, using an exercise bike might help them to stay fit.

At any age, exercise is more fun when we enjoy it.

12/08/2026

"Secret" No. 4 of older adults - they are often feel very busy
Maybe you have a set of therapeutic exercises given to you by a physio or other health professional, that you know will benefit you and only take 10 min per day. Yet somehow you can still easily miss out on doing them. You might remember just before you go to bed, and think "I'll definitely do them tomorrow". Or perhaps you are very diligent in exercising - which is fantastic and also rewarding. However the first scenario is a familiar story for many of us. There is research indicating that only 1 person in 12 is likely to adhere to their home exercise program. Let's hope that has improved recently!

Just like all age groups, older adults are no different in often feeling that they don't have the time to do their physio exercises. Maybe they can find the 10 min it requires, but when it gets to the afternoon or there are multiple things happening on that day, exercise can get pushed aside.


Older adults may be a bit slower, and they may spend time caring for another person or have their own health problems to manage - on top of everything else! So, like everyone else they need to find the physical and mental space to adjust to being given a home exercise program to do. It's yet another demand on their time.

It's not just older adults, many of us also need to remember that it take a little bit of time to change to a new routine. Fortuntately we can often support each other to do this.