Diary of an academic mum

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Running and walking solo means silly finish-line selfies are a must! Finally we have been given some freedom when it comes to running events. What?!? I hear you say. I know, it's ironic really with all the COVID19 restrictions and all. But what I mean is that we finally have the freedom to participate in running events at a time and place that we choose. No more getting up at 4am to get into the city in time to start my marathon on a rainy, miserable Melbourne Marathon day. I hear mothers and shift workers everywhere yell  "Halleluiah! I can compete in my run and be back in time for when the kids wake up/my shift starts!"  Personally, I have noticed that suddenly I'm not overcome with the guilt associated with taking half a day out from mum duties to prepare, attend and participate in a fun run (although the atmosphere, and lack of snotty noses, is p...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Those who have seen a physio before are probably used to going to a clinic, checking in with the receptionist, waiting in the waiting room and then seeing the physio in their consultation room. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works. The clinic is your computer room, your receptionist is the 'accept' button on a calendar invite, your waiting room has a comfy couch and your trusty dog and your physio's consulting room is in the cloud. This is 2020. This is pandemic physio. This is telehealth! So what does a telehealth consultation look like? A patient of mine gave me permission to share a video of part of our consultation where I am assessing her shoulder movement and prescribing her an exercise. As you can see, there's not much difference between assessment over telehealth and assessment in person! Except that the consultat...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach.   Isolation throws many ordinary things at us, like boredom, loneliness and the potential for poor fitness and general health. Let's try and overcome our isolation obstacles with a homemade obstacle course! I created two obstacle courses at home using stuff I have lying around. Yes, there's some exercise equipment, but you don't need it. Check out my videos below.  Are you new to exercise? Check that you're safe to exercise by  completing this online quiz first . Talk to your preferred health care professional (e.g. GP or physio) if you have any concerns about your safety to exercise before undergoing a new activity. Make sure you warm up and cool down appropriately before exercising (e.g. gentle walking around the block) Cardio Obstacle Course This short circuit starts and ends with a gentle cardio exercise, like stepping up...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach.     We are in the beginning of the first (and hopefully last) pandemic of our generation. The COVID-19 or "coronavirus" pandemic sees many of us having to undergo several behaviour changes that we never anticipated needing to make.  What is "coronavirus"? Check out this video for an explainer of the virus' action and COVID-19's infection outcomes. We are being asked to do things we never thought we'd need to do in 2020, like avoiding people around us by using  social distancing that includes 1.5m spacing . We have also seen a lot of the things we enjoy being taken away from us, like our  pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes ,  gardens  and  beaches  being closed. Image 1: Introverts might enjoy the isolation, but those extroverts out there might struggle without their clubs and pubs (credit: knowyourmeme.co...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Research Fellow, BehaviourWorks Australia.  COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) . What is a pandemic? Our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison (ScoMo), has been very busy trying to manage public concern and panic around the pandemic, while advising us on what we should do to minimise the spread of the virus (Image 1).  Image 1: What you can do to control the spread of COVID-19 (credit: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention ) Mr Morrison is often seen flanked by the Chief Medical Officer, Prof. Brendan Murphy , in press conferences where they advise us on what the current situation is, what the government is doing to control the spread and protect the safety of the nation, and what Australians need to do to keep ourselves and each other safe and healthy.  But is ScoMo following his own advice? I read an interesting paper ...