Podcast Episode 2. Staying Positive.

Hello, this is Kate. Welcome to this Lindsay Leg Club podcast. A number of states in Australia are currently in lockdown, including us here, my family and myself. I'm joined today by my other half Gary. Hello. So we know that in the UK and indeed so many other countries around the world the experience of lockdown is far too familiar. The loneliness that goes with that, the social disconnect and the difficulties that individuals experience who are battling chronic illness during a forced pandemic isolation is a daily lived experience for too many people. But we know these issues are not new. We know that Ellie Lindsay set up the Leg Club model of care all the way back in 1995, not just to help people improve their leg wounds and their associated lower limb problems. She wanted these people to receive care in such a manner that their holistic needs could also be met, thereby confronting the very issues that arise from social disengagement. And right now, I think all of us around the world know what social disengagement feels like. There's loneliness, there's loss of self-esteem, physical dysfunction, financial burden, the physical realities of pain for people living with these chronic lower leg issues. There could be exudation and odor, all combining to reduce that person's quality of life. leg club environment with its members and clinicians working together to tackle these problems head-on. Now we know that one of the issues that leg club members report is a problem of lower leg swelling, often called edema. Swelling makes the legs heavy, uncomfortable, sometimes discolored and affects the skin. Swollen legs are more easily damaged and therefore they suffer skin breaks and wounds and then when broken these injuries leak and can often stain dressings, clothing, bed linen. So minimizing this swelling is very important for maintaining lower leg skin health, being able to wear appropriate footwear and to be mobile. For most of us our mobility is strongly linked to our sense of independence. Gary you work with people who endure these types of problems all the time. Yeah look we probably should talk a little bit about what the second heart does. That second heart we often refer to as the leg calf muscle. Now it is a pump which drives lymphatic fluid and blood in the veins out of the leg. It pushes fluid away from the foot pushing it back towards the trunk or the body and most of the time it will do that by working against gravity. We experience gravity when we sit or when we stand but to push that fluid out of your leg you need a pump to do it and that's what that calf muscle does. Moving the calf muscle is therefore an essential mechanism for limiting leg swelling. So the next question is well how do you get that calf muscle going? So exercise is critical, we know that many people with chronic swelling may well be having to wear compression garments, compression hosiery, but exercise is an essential mechanism for limiting leg swelling. The Lindsay Leg Club has partnered lately with Mr Motivator, so folks in the UK will be very familiar with Mr Motivator. Anybody else if you haven't heard of him or seen him, take yourself off to look at the Lindsay Leg Club website. You need to go to www.legclub.org and right there on the landing page you will find the links to the program where Lindsay Leg Club are partnering with an exercise class with Mr Motivator. aim being to get us all moving. We can start making some good habits involving activity, motion and movement and the free Mr. Motivator class will cater for all ages of all levels of mobility. It doesn't rely on anybody being able to actually exercise standing. You will be able to exercise sitting if that's more appropriate for you. There will be strengthening exercises and don't be perturbed that it's something that you feel you can't do. You can do. There will be something for everyone. You need to visit the website and follow the links there where you'll be able to also join if you wish the Motivation Club. You can access that club on a free trial but the free Wednesday class that's happening is Wednesday the 30th of June at 6 30 p.m. British time. So take yourself off to that website and find out more and join in. We can all do this together. A lot of us all around the world will be joining this class together. And remember wherever you are you are not alone. You're not useless. You can do more than you know. Just make a start. The Lindsay Leg Club is there to help you. It's been great to talk to you again. We look forward to catching up again in another podcast. In the meantime everybody stay safe, stay well, let's all look after each other and most importantly when we're alone let's look after ourselves. Self-care is so important. Let's look after our legs. Well said and bye for now. Bye for now. .