My AS, My Life
Hello everyone!
We hope that you are all having a good week.
Some of you who were following our blogs last year may remember us speaking about the incredible NASS (National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society) Facebook live sessions that were running throughout the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. These sessions continued to provide support to people with axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA) and maintain a strong sense of community throughout lockdown, when many of us were unable to see a healthcare provider or attend physiotherapy/ exercise sessions to help manage our health.
For this week’s blog, we again want to put a spotlight on the amazing work of the NASS team, and particularly Zoë Clark, NASS Senior Self-Management Programme Officer, for their amazing, informative, ongoing Facebook live sessions and My AS, My Life resources; helping you build the skills and confidence to take control of your axial SpA (AS) and your life.
As stated on the NASS My AS, My Life website: “On average you might spend 2 hours each year with a health professional discussing your axial SpA (AS). That leaves 8,758 hours where you have to manage your condition on your own. My AS, My Life helps you build the confidence and skills you need to self-manage your axial SpA (AS). It includes guides, videos, blogs and links to a whole range of issues covering both your physical and mental health.”
The wealth of resources available on the My AS, My Life website are arranged into the following topics:
Life Hacks
Axial SpA In-Depth
Emotional Wellbeing
Exercise
Managing Pain
If you haven’t already, we would highly recommend you taking a look at the My AS, My Life website and NASS Facebook page. If you have twitter, you can also follow @NASSexercise to keep up to date with the latest sessions!
Here are some of the exciting upcoming Facebook lives:
We will try to keep these up to date on our “Events” page moving forward!
Thursday 14 October, 13.00: How axial SpA can affect your feet with Dr Lindsey Cherry, Senior Clinical Academic at the University of Southampton & Solent NHS Trust
Wednesday 20 October, 12.00: Pilates ‘improver’ session with Ruth Larkin, Sports Therapist and Pilates teacher
Tuesday 26 October, 10.00: Relaxation session with Ali Potter, Health & Mindset Coach and Osteopath
Wednesday 3 November, 13.00: Acupuncture for pain with Ian Appleyard, Research & Policy Manager, British Acupuncture Council
Weds 10 Nov, 13.00: Winter wellbeing with Colin Beevor, Matron and Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist, Portsmouth Hospital
Weds 17 Nov, 18.00: HIIT exercise session with Josh Poole, Senior Physiotherapist
Weds 24 Nov, 13.00: Women and axial SpA with Dr Helena Marzo-Ortega, Consultant Rheumatologist
Weds 1 Dec, 18.00: Men and axial SpA with Will Gregory, Consultant Physiotherapist (Rheumatology)
Weds 8 Dec, 13.00: Somatic movement class with Ian Young, Somatics teacher
We have also embedded some videos below of a few of the recent sessions, in case you missed them! All are posted on the My AS, My Life website and YouTube channel, following the live session on Facebook.
As always, thank you NASS and Zoë for all that you do for the axial SpA community!
Have a good rest of the week everyone and we look forward to posting again at the end of the month (another 2020 research updates post!).
All the best,
The Project Nightingale team
