At Wellness Embodied, we offer orthotics prescription services utilising our GaitScan technology. Our therapists are qualified in assessing your need for orthotics, and will determine exactly what is going to be suitable.   So, who needs orthotics? If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, you may be in need of some extra arch support! – do you stand for long periods of time, and often leave work with aching feet? – do you suffer from low back, hip, knee, ankle or foot pain? – do you suffer from niggling overuse injuries such as stress fractures, tendon

At some point in your rehabilitation or sporting journey, you have probably heard the terms strength and conditioning thrown around. But what do these terms actually mean?  Put simply, strength and conditioning is the process most athletes will go through to better prepare their bodies for the sporting/competitive season. It is a program that is tailored to the individual athlete and their sport, and is designed to prepare their body for peak performance in their chosen sport or activity. It is a process that involves collaboration between a strength and conditioning coach, the sporting coach, and any relevant health professionals

Are you worried we’ll tell you to stop exercising after a concussion? One of the main barriers we hear from athletes against seeking help post concussion is, ‘I want to play in the Grand final/ compete in 2 weeks’ BEST PRACTICE concussion management is to obtain a baseline test at the beginning of season (so that when you sustain a concussion, we’re comparing your performance to your normal- as well as dealing with any niggling issues BEFORE the season begins… ), plus to see a practitioner with knowledge of all facets of concussion management WITHIN THE FIRST 48 HOURS POST

October is Mental Health Month!    This year, we celebrate the theme of “tuning in” to your mental health, and to the factors that may be impacting upon it. What exactly does this mean?    Put simply, tuning in means being present. It means that you aware of both what is happening within yourself, and what is happening in the world around you. It can help to build awareness of your thoughts and feelings, identify negative thought patterns, assist you in making positive choices, and build positive connections with the people around you, as well as outside influences.    How

Wellness Embodied are delighted to be the first Cairns clinic to offer the GLA:D program for sufferers of hip and knee OA. The GLA:D program in Australia shows an average pain reduction of 36%, reduced analgesic consumption, reduction in perceived need for surgery, clinically meaningful improvement in joint confidence. We often see clients with OA who are confused about exercise and its benefits, as well as their condition, so we look forward to improving the quality of life of OA sufferers greatly. An initial appointment is required to assess the clients eligibility for the program. The program will start on Tuesday

What and where is Tibialis Anterior? It is a muscle located in our shin, right next to the tibia bone. It is an important muscle because it is responsible for bringing our foot up (dorsiflexion) and help us for our walking. What is tibialis anterior tendinopathy? And what are the symptoms? Tibialis anterior tendinopathy is an overuse injury of the tibialis anterior muscle. If we use the tibialis anterior muscle beyond its capability, the tendon may start to get some micro injuries, and gradually become a tendinopathy. Generally, at the beginning phase, patients with tibialis anterior tendinopathy will only experience

Do you know much about bone health/bone density or osteoporosis?    What is Osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is defined as reduced bone density, and it leaves bone brittle, and at higher risk of fracture when an osteoporotic person had a fall or any other high-impact incident. Osteoporosis is a very common condition in Australia, and it was estimated that approximately 3.8% of the Australian population has osteoporosis, and it leads to over 170,000 fractures each year.    Osteoporosis is generally diagnosed with bone scan. Common osteoporotic areas such as the lumbar spine and hip will usually be scanned, and data will be

Diet is an often overlooked part of concussion management, as well as health in general. We’ve heard that your gut is a second brain. At Wellness Embodied Cairns, we’re lucky enough to have a Physiotherapist who is also a degree qualified naturopath- working out of our Scott Street clinic. Part of our CCMI concussion injury management protocol is to provide nutrition advice. BUT- what impact would it have on your sporting performance, as well as your recovery, if your nutrition was optimised BEFORE sustaining an injury? Check out our Wellness Embodied Cairns physiotherapy video discussing this here. For further information

Ever get stiff and sore at your desk during the day!?   Follow along with our Cairns Physiotherapist Maigi as she leads you through a series of desk based stretches to keep the niggles at bay. If you are suffering from any desk bound aches and pains in your office or need guidance with your workstation ergonomics please contact our clinic on 42319777, email admin@wellnessembodiedcairns.com or visit our online booking page here 

Our fortnightly Facebook Wellness Embodied live videos are back! We are going live on Facebook every fortnight on Thursdays at 1:00pm (Cairns time) Tune in on Facebook to watch us live! On this weeks Facebook Live video, our Cairns Paediatric Physiotherapist Maigi is talking about kids lower limb development and common causes for parental concerns. If you have any concerns about your child’s development, we can help! Call 42319777 to book an appointment, or visit our online booking page  

Many back injuries occur after incorrect bending or lifting, especially when we try to lift a heavy object up by ourselves with incorrect technique. If we try to lift something heavy with our back it would put on a big load onto our lumbar spine, which might cause injuries. Therefore, a good lifting technique is essential to protect us from sustaining a back injury. Generally, we should try to push the object rather than lift and move. If pushing is not feasible, then we try to lift it (with a correct technique!!!). Secondly, if we decide to lift something, we

April is autism awareness month!  Let’s talk about autism, what is it and how it affects a person. Autism is a condition that affects how a person interacts with others, how the person feels, thinks and experiences their environment and situations. People with autism spectrum disorder can have repetitive behaviours or hyper- or hyposensitivity processing information from vision, auditory, touch, taste, smell, from the vestibular system or proprioception.  They can have difficulties with social interactions, communication or can show restricted interest. It is a developmental condition and the cause of autism is not fully understood, but early intervention, education and

Our fortnightly Facebook Wellness Embodied live videos are back! We are going live on Facebook every fortnight on Thursdays at 1:00pm (Cairns time) Tune in on Facebook to watch us live.   In this week of our Facebook lives, our physio Clara will be explaining common causes and symptoms of vestibular dysfunction in kids and what the treatment options are. If you would like more information about our Cairns paediatric vestibular rehab, please visit our blog page or call our friendly clinic staff on 4231 9777 for more info or to book in with us.

Neck pain is one of the most debilitating types of pain we see at our Cairns physiotherapy clinic. There are multiple factors that contribute to neck pain, including sleeping posture. Poor neck posture may not just lead to neck pain but also headache, shoulder pain and even jaw pain! A suitable and supportive pillow is essential for our sleeping quality and keeping our neck pain-free! Different people have slightly different types and curvatures of cervical spine, and different necks require different types of pillow. Here at Wellness Embodied Cairns, we recommend the Denton’s pillow and we stock these at both

Last week was Tinnitus Awareness Week in Australia, so lets learn a little bit about the condition. Tinnitus is an often distressing condition where the sufferer experiences suffering in one or both ears. It can be present along with vertigo, can be exacerbated by allergies or other factors and is often constant. At Wellness Embodied, we see a number of clients with tinnitus as a ‘side symptom’- particularly in our clients with headaches and vertigo/ vestibular conditions. We often find that once the clients neck, or vestibular dysfunction is treated, their tinnitus is much lessened, or in some cases goes

Kids Yoga is coming to Wellness Embodied!! Let’s talk about kids yoga! Kids yoga is a combination of games, postures and breathing exercises. Yoga is beneficial for the body and mind, it helps kids to cope with stress and improves their physical fitness. It is a fun way for children to develop different skills in a non-competitive environment. They can develop strength, coordination, balance in a supportive environment that allows them to relax and have fun. Benefits of Yoga for Children Yoga is good for our body and mind! Some of the benefits of yoga for children are the following:

Do you suffer from chronic dizziness but you haven’t found any answers about what has been going on? Have you ever heard of 3PD?…here is a short explanation… Persistent postural perceptual dizziness = 3PD It is long duration unsteadiness and dizziness (longer than 3 months), that worsens when standing and walking, or when going to busy environments such as supermarkets, shopping centres, crowded or open places; or exposed to complex visual stimuli like patterned carpets or watching traffic. 3PD is usually initiated after a vertigo episode , where the spinning feeling goes away but there is persistent dizziness that does not

Our fortnightly Facebook Wellness Embodied live videos are back! We are going live on Facebook every fortnight on Thursdays at 1:00pm (Cairns time) Tune in on Facebook to watch us live! Here are the last 2 fortnights of our Wellness Embodied Live –  First up is Clara, our Complete Concussion Management Inc certified physiotherapist chatting about introduction to Head Concussion. Next up is Concussion Management Protocol – What to expect on the first appointment after sustaining a concussion and how physiotherapy can help. Led by our Complete Concussion Management Inc Physiotherapist Alyza Brown. If you or a loved one has

Vestibular Migraines Are One Of The Most Common Causes Of Vertigo. With this condition, patients suffer from migraines that involve vestibular symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo and nausea. Headaches do not necessarily have to be present. In fact, sometimes some people may have vertigo without any headache. The term migraine in this condition means it is a spontaneous episode caused by a combination of triggers. There is not a clear explanation for why vestibular migraines happen but there are lots of things we can do to help to reduce them. Vestibular migraines present as spontaneous episodes of vertigo that last

Benign: because it is easy to fix Paroxysmal: symptoms start very suddenly, without other symptoms ever happening before Positional : when you put your head in a specific position Vertigo: sensation of movement when you are stationary    Crystals? What crystals? They live in our inner ear. They are formed by calcium and carbonate. They lie down on hairy cells and they move every time we move our head up and down or during acceleration and deceleration of our body. Like if you had little rocks lying on your head: every time you bend your head forward they will fall,

RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Light physical activity each day in the first 5 days, provided it: –Does not exacerbate symptoms –Does not put you at risk for hitting your head 2. Light cognitive activity for the first 2-3 days: -Screens ok, cognitive activity ok -Do whatever doesn’t provoke your symptoms too much and DO NOT do anything which places you at risk of hitting your head 3. Driving protocol: DO NOT DRIVE FOR THE FIRST 48 HS Stage 1–Riding in a car as a passenger. If your symptoms do not increase for 24 hours, you can move to stage 2 Stage 2–Driving around neighbourhood with

The physio’s at Wellness Embodied have a new tool to play with! Our new MAT developed by Movement Assessment Technology, improves the ease of completing a whole body assessment, and allows us to really nut out why you may be experiencing pain. This tool is great for assessing a whole variety of tasks such as: Single leg balance and stability Range of motion of the ankle, knee, hip, back and upper body Jump and hop tests Core balance and stability General and endurance based strength Our physiotherapist Alyza is currently completing her Level One MAT course, and is already implementing

Now that restrictions are easing, I’m sure most of you are very excited to resume your normal gym routine and return to your previous exercise regimes. Whilst this is very exciting, and exercise is indeed the best thing for our bodies, I am here to tell you to start slowly and build yourself back up.  Commonly, injuries are caused by overloading body tissues that aren’t equipped to deal with the activity you’re trying to complete. Ever seen a dad try to outsprint his 17 year old son and tear a hamstring because he hasn’t sprinted in about ten years? Then

Wellness Embodied Live is our free Weekly Facebook live series for people in isolation, or those who are keen to learn and improve their health. Videos will be available to watch online on our Facebook page or on our Youtube channel  This week, Practice Principal Suzanne Rath will share some insights from her recently completed training on Nutrition for musculoskeletal complaints- assisting you to improve your healing! You can view it here on our youtube page! We stock a large range of BioCeuticals products in our Cairns City Clinic, pop in to take a look, we can even set you

  Wellness Embodied Live is our new series for those of you working from home, in isolation, or simply worried about the current uncertain situation in the world. We’ll be producing short, sharp, free video tutorials every Wednesday at 12pm on our Facebook Page which you can tune in to at the time or later on to help you with an area of body pain, stress or tension.   See our previous Live FB events here! Rid your body of Stress and Tension – This week, Practice Principal Physiotherapist Suzanne Rath leads a short guided body tune in and gives

One of the most commonly prescribed supplements by physios is Magnesium. In this post we examine: What is it good for, why you need a practitioner grade product and how to know you may be deficient. Magnesium is an important macromineral, which plays a role in over 300 enzymatic reactions- including the metabolism of vitamin D. Studies have shown beneficial effects on anxiety and stress, as well as positive relationships with physical function in older adults (along with zinc, selenium and iron). Low magnesium intake is associated in epidemiological studies with high blood pressure, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes. Magnesium levels are

Are you watching the social media feeds of others in lockdown, touting their extra exercise time, lovely veggie gardens and clean houses and wondering where your Mojo is? You’re not alone! For every person we see in clinic who’s sticking to their online exercise routine religiously, or baking sourdough, we see several others who are just fed up and want all of this to end now. This is particularly true for our clients who are awaiting surgery or are still in self isolation at home. RESET Some of the most powerful ways of ‘resetting’ are tools which we share in

It’s nearly May- and hasn’t April been the longest month ever?! We’re very grateful to be able to come to work each day for face to face and hands on time with clients, as AHPRA registered AHPs. We’ve also been pivoting a little to increased Telehealth for remote-based Australians, as well as home visits to some of our NDIS clients- it’s wonderful to be able to continue to provide a much needed physio service. But onto the topics for this week….. HAMSTRING MUSCLE REHAB Last week on our Facebook page, Alyza created some really great content on hamstring tears and rehab, including

One of the big benefits of the current down time is the opportunity to learn lots online. While we are still busy treating clients in clinic, as well as running Telehealth consults Australia-wide, we’ve managed to catch up with some great upskilling in the physiotherapy domain also. This is in addition to our weekly staff in-house training sessions (which we now run on Zoom, to minimise contact!). Tendon Pains A couple of weeks ago Suzanne, Alyza and Clara listened to a great Q&A with tendon pain expert Jill Cook. There are many different types of tendonopathy (tendon damage, inflammation or

Hope everybody had a nice Easter and maybe even a backyard camp-out! Many of you will know our physiotherapist Campbell Will, who is also a Certified Wim Hof instructor and writes extensively on the power of correct breathing and the Wim Hof technique through his Breath & Body therapy platforms (find him on Facebook/ Instagram). Campbell has been in New York since the end of January with his wife and was due to return to work with us in mid May- unfortunately, he looks like he is stuck there for the foreseeable future right now (making us feel even more lucky to be

Hi All We’ve noticed 3 interesting additions to our physiotherapy work last week. Isolation Injuries, head/ neck/ Shoulder pain consults due to home office set up and an increase in appointments for stress. Read on to see how we can help you with these! 1) Isolation Injuries Jigsaw neck? It’s a real thing. Many of us are doing things we wouldn’t normally do at home and getting new pains and aches as a result! Suzanne had her first Video consult with a client suffering from new onset headaches (from a change in work environment) last week. While we are still

Happy Monday to all of you! We hope you had some downtime over the weekend and are ready to face another healthy, hand sanitised week like we are 🙂 Please keep the memes coming for sharing on our Facebook page and VIP group too- we all need a little humour right now. We are still open for business for 1;1 appointments in our city centre clinic. You’ll notice that parking is super easy to come by, our door knobs, pens and other surfaces are sanitised within an inch of their lives and we are restricting further the number of clients in clinic at one

What a crazy week! We got authorisation from the government to stay open, as an essential Allied Health service and the Federal Health minister Greg Hunt reiterated this yesterday, stating that there is still a need for face to face visits and the Health Department will be releasing public information regarding the safety of Allied Health. For those of you who are part of our VIP group on Facebook, see more of the summary of this. Right now we’re happy to be assisting people with pain, stress relief and movement to get through both chronic and acute conditions. Pain and lack

In times of uncertainty, people are fearful- but it’s also a great chance for the community to come together. Like all small businesses in Cairns, things are uncertain for us as to how the pandemic will play out- but we’re happy to report we’re open for business. We post frequently on Facebook about the stringent measures we’re taking to maintain the health of our staff and clients- in fact, I would almost say it’s one of the safest times to visit us for a physio appointment- all of our staff are well and our clients cancel if they even have so much

Did you know that one of the best lines of defence against Covid-19 (or any virus) is through your nose? Breathing through your nose allows the tiny hairs there (cilia) to filter air before it reaches your lungs, reducing toxins. Slow, relaxed deep breathing is an excellent way to calm down and alleviate stress. If you’d like to start a great breath-work practice at home and learn more about the role of the breath, our Breathing for Daily Living is available on our website- lifetime access for just $34.95. This was created by our physio Campbell, who is also a

Lisa came into the clinic 15 months post-partum with a new incidence of thoracic pain concentrated on the left side of her spine. Being the mum of a 15 month old toddler, and having recently returned to work, Lisa was constantly on the go and performing a lot of manual handling tasks. During questioning, we were unable to pinpoint any specific trauma or incident that caused Lisa’s pain, it just seemed to appear suddenly and randomly! However, further questioning into the way Lisa performs her manual handling tasks showed that she was constantly carrying her child on one side, lifting

Do you find that you’re struggling to achieve the optimum squat technique for you? Squatting, whilst a seemingly simple exercise, requires a lot of coordination and balance, and is impacted upon by you individual anatomical make-up. If you’re someone who has always struggled with achieving a good squat, here are a few simple things that you can do to help: Stand with your feet shoulder width (or slightly wider) apart, and toes turned outwards (find that sweet spot for you!) Begin by slowly bending your knees and hinging at the hips, and allow your body weight to sink down and

What if developing better breathing habits was just as important as developing better eating habits for your fitness and performance? Maybe it is!  It may seem simple, but developing better breathing practices during exercise can have a significant impact on your fitness. All of our muscles require oxygen to function. Getting oxygen into the blood is easy, simply take a breath, however getting oxygen from the blood to where it needs to go (the working muscles) is a little more complex. It requires some help from Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and this is where developing better breathing habits becomes important. We

Here at Wellness Embodied we are proud to support local charities and causes that are close to our heart! As we reflect back on the year that was we are proud to have supported the following Charities and causes in 2019: Fundacja Tymmmczasy (Polish Animal Shelter) Cardiac Challenge – Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation FNQ Cerebral Palsy Support Group Ruth’s Women’s Shelter Cairns Transfrontier Africa (Black Mamba – The 1st all female Anti-Poaching Group) Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation Mision:Mexico Orphanage The Rescue Collective Gratitude Gift Boxes Cairns UN Women National Committee Australia Clean Up Australia – Clean Up Australia Day –

We recently had a competitive swimmer through the doors of Wellness Embodied who was struggling with persistent shoulder pain. This patient had seen two other physiotherapists who treated her shoulder locally with mild improvement, but the pain kept coming back when she returned to swimming. On assessment we did find a local impingement at the shoulder, but as the patient reported other physios found and treated the shoulder we decided to look for the root cause. The shoulder is a complex joint with many moving parts and relies on part on good mobility through the neck and upper back. A

In simple terms, concussion is a disturbance of brain functioning caused by direct or indirect force to the head. You do NOT have to lose consciousness to suffer a concussion, and it can commonly occur outside of sport. The brain can move within the skull, and if a sudden blow or movement occurs, the brain can knock against the skull, causing swelling and sometimes bleeding.  The brain is a highly sensitive structure and even a small insult can cause a variety of neurological symptoms. Concussion generally occurs from a mild blow to the head, either with or without loss of

Written by Ayleen Marinelli, Remedial Massage Therapist at Wellness Embodied Cairns. Recently I had a client ask what was the exact type of massage techniques I had been using on her. She had been responding extremely well with this form of therapy and she wanted to tell a family member who lives in another state, to get the same type of treatment. In this case I had mostly been using lymphatic drainage and myofascial release techniques.    As a remedial massage therapist I have many types of massage styles and techniques that I have acquired in order to use to treat the client to the best of my ability. I use a variety of techniques in a session, predominately Myofascial Release.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome is a disorder of the jaw muscles and nerves caused by injury or inflammation to the temporomandibular joint.  The temporomandibular joint is what connects your skull to your jaw. Lots of the structures (muscles, vessels and nerves) that go to your head and face, are the same that the ones which go to your neck. Hence, any injury or disorder in those structures can cause referred pain to your Temporomandibular joint.  There are several risk factors for TMD:  -Poor posture in the neck and upper back muscles may lead to neck strain and abnormalities of jaw

Training for Cairns Ironman? Participating in the Cairns Half Marathon? Yungaburra or Tinaroo Triathlons? Something else? Have you thought about including sports massage at Wellness Embodied in your routine? Sports Massage is a form of manual therapy/bodywork that is targeted towards people participating in sport, whether you are a novice, weekend warrior or seasoned professional.  It is a useful therapy in helping to prevent injuries, prepare the body for athletic activity, maintain body’s optimal condition and performance, and recover from workouts and injuries. Strenuous physical activity can put stain on various parts of your body, as well as body systems.

Happy International Women’s Day! This year, the theme is #BalanceforBetter. In the words of the International Women’s Day website, ‘Balance is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. The race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance in wealth, gender-balanced sports coverage.’ Some of you may not know that at Wellness Embodied, we’ve decided to make ‘women’ the loose theme of our charitable and social change program this year. We believe that women bring a unique voice and set of skills to every table. By achieving gender balance

We often put all our effort into training. Increasing distance, decreasing time, more intensity, faster splits. But how much effort are you putting into recovery? In fact, some research points to your ability to recover as just as important as your ability to train. If you don’t recover optimally, you are starting behind the 8 ball with your next training session. When we run / swim / walk / lift / exercise there is a response at the tissue level and at the system level. Micro-trauma to muscle tissue, buildup of waste products, decreased circulation, increased muscle tension, nervous system

  In 2018, I set my first word for the year- Connection. Like setting an intention in yoga, setting a ‘word’ for the year can help you tune into what you most need. It may be aligned with your personal values, a goal or a feeling which you would like to feel. Some examples may include: Healing. Strength. Growth. Kindness. Compassion. Achievement. In 2019, my word is ‘love’- love can encompass self-compassion, spreading love to the world, viewing actions of friends and family with love and more. Let’s see how it goes! Spreading the love in 2019 Emotions in Motion:

Michael came in to see us last week due to persistent shoulder pain. His personal trainer had given him a few exercises but the pain wasn’t going away. His GP suggested he take panadol and ibuprofen and lay off the exercises for a week, but still no improvement. On assessment we did find his shoulder to be restricted, but also found we were able to reproduce his pain with specific neck movements. We treated Michael’s neck, restoring pain free range of motion, and provided him with postural advice, and his shoulder pain subsided. Did you know the neck can refer

Do you brush your teeth every day?… why not brush your joints? Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) promote joint hygiene and longevity. CARs are defined as ‘active, rotational movements at the outer limits of articular motion’.’ These movements help to maintain joint health, identify movement limitations and can also act as a ‘warm-up’ for the neuromechanical interplay that is joint movement. An element of the Functional Range Conditioning system developed by Dr. Andreo Spina, CARs help to: Maintain range of motion Increase the health and longevity of your joints Act as a screening process Assist the rehabilitation process We have all

The Wim Hof Method – Who is Wim Hof? Wim “The Iceman” Hof is a Dutch daredevil who has become widely known  for his extraordinary feats, usually involving physical resilience in the face of extreme temperatures and environments. He holds upwards of 20 world records, including staying in an ice bath for nearly 2 hours, summiting Mt Kilimanjaro in his shorts, and climbing to the death zone in Mt Everest (7,500m) in nothing but shorts and shoes (no oxygen tank either!). But these feats were simply to gain recognition in the hope that the scientific community would take note and

Most of us know the benefits of physical activity such as walking, swimming, running, cycling (cardiovascular fitness). But strength training shouldn’t be forgotten in our exercise programs, especially as we age. Not only does physical activity have a vast array of general health benefits (heart health, weight control, bone density maintenance) but is also a key factor in improving memory, reducing depression and alleviating stress. Now walking for 30 minutes a day definitely has its benefits, but is it enough to provide lasting changes, and can including strength training help increase the benefits? A recent review of research articles found

It seems like a drastic claim, but let’s look at some of the research. A 2012 study (Wilmot et al.) found sitting for greater than 7 hours doubled the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and even had a 13% increased risk of cancer. And a 2015 review (Biswas et al.) of recent studies also found a significant association with sedentary lifestyle and cardiovascular disease, cancer incidence and type 2 diabetes incidence. The World Health Organization blames sedentary lifestyles for approximately two million deaths each year and considers physical inactivity to be one of the 10 leading causes

Awww, little people! Physiotherapy in paediatrics is a huge area, which includes kids with respiratory conditions (more on these to come in a future post- in fact, some of the best responders to chest physiotherapy are little babies in intensive care, whose conditions can change rapidly), neurological conditions (such as cerebral palsy, poor development, etc.) and your general sprains and strains. One of the nicest physio jobs I’ve known of in paediatrics belonged to a friend of mine who worked solely with blind children- because they were lacking the key sense of sight, they failed to develop as quickly as