A friend of mine is currently training to be a Yoga instructor. This got me thinking about Yoga and musculoskeletal conditions. The different Yoga poses focus on increasing the flexibility of the joints and improving postural stability through improvements in muscle strength. Yoga also aims to release the tension on muscles with the aim of [read the full story…]
Evidence-based treatments for mental health conditions have come on in leaps and bounds in the last 20 years. I remember as a young elf, skipping around the country and running workshops on evidence-based mental health; training psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses and others. There wasn’t much gold standard evidence to choose from back then and there was [read the full story…]
I’ve read with interest a number of recent publications that suggest that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may be less effective in patients receiving disability benefits versus other patients. The theory here is that the specific circumstances of being on disability benefits may somehow lead to poorer outcomes following CBT. There’s some evidence in other clinical [read the full story…]
The 2010/11 British Crime Survey reported that levels of lifetime partner abuse were 27% in women and 17% in men. The survey concluded that women experience more domestic violence than men and the abuse is more severe and prolonged in women. The Home Office is planning to redefine domestic violence in the coming months, to [read the full story…]
The reduced life expectancy (15-20 years less) often faced by many people with schizophrenia is frequently a result of cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle choices (smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet) can increase the risk of these diseases, but people who take antipsychotic drugs often have the additional problem of weight gain that is caused by [read the full story…]
A year ago this week I blogged about a study in the British Journal of Psychiatry that showed the dramatically reduced life expectancy of people with severe mental illness, who on average live 15-20 years less than the rest of the population. Twelve months on and a new study published in the same journal paints an equally [read the full story…]
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the main reasons for people consulting their general practitioner and seeking treatment from a physiotherapist. The provision of accurate advice on the recovery for LBP is an important feature of any consultation, yet there is disagreement as to its prognosis. Therefore, it was with great interest that I [read the full story…]
Pathological gambling is defined by DSM-IV as a disorder of impulse control which includes a preoccupation with gambling, failed attempts to reduce gambling, and restlessness or irritability when prevented from gambling. It is likely to be reclassified as an addictive disorder in DSM-V. Gambling is something that most adults dabble in from time to time. [read the full story…]
Early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) involves 20-40 hours of individualised instruction each week for children with autism. The therapy usually begins at age 4 or younger and continues for 2-3 years. The technique was pioneered by Dr. Ivar Lovaas and colleagues in the 1970s. A new systematic review from the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems [read the full story…]
There is an increasing body of research that suggests that inflammation plays an important role in the development of schizophrenia. It is therefore logical to consider using anti-inflammatory drugs as a component within the overall treatment approach for people with schizophrenia. This new systematic review and meta-analysis carried out by researchers from the University Medical [read the full story…]
