Diary of an academic mum

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. "Ahhh! What the f*ck just happened? Christ. My f*cking back is killing me and I can't move!" I hurt my back a few weeks ago while lifting Abby out of her high chair. And when I say that I hurt my back, I really hurt my back.  We all experience some back pain, stiffness, ache-iness, not-quite-right-ness occasionally. That's normal. It's normal to have pain sometimes. Not even just back pain, but also knee pain, foot pain, ear pain, throat pain ( let's not talk about that during the COVID-19 pandemic! ). It's not the end of the world. It hurts for a bit, it gets better, we move on.  This back pain experience was different. This pain was intense, sudden, frightening and debilitating. It was also a great learning opportunity. Physiotherapists treat dozens of different musculoskeletal conditions but, by far, low back pain is the one of the mos

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Aim: Establish the effects of wearing a facial mask on perceived exertion and physiological outcomes during running. Method: One 31-year-old woman (max HR = 189 beats per min) pushing a pram with one 10 month-old-child (weight = heavy) ran* 2.7km twice while attending a work meeting. The second run was completed while wearing a three-layered facial mask. The space between each run involved getting the grocery shopping done, allowing heart rate and perceived exertion to reach normal levels. One Garmin Forerunner™ watch measured physiological outcomes (heart rate [HR] and percentage heart rate maximum [%HRMax]). Distance, time to complete and pace was also recorded using the watch. Rating of perceived exertion was measured on a scale of 0 (as easy as sleeping) to 10 (exhausting). Results: The two runs were successfully completed with baby and pram in situ, as well a