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Emilie's grandmother lived with chronic back pain for years. Over time it took her independence, her home and the things she loved. Emilie later spent two years with chronic hip pain of her own. Studying exercise and physiotherapy helped her understand what was happening and what she could do about it. That understanding is what she brings to biio.
She listens to the patient’s story, from where the pain began to where it stands now. She asks questions to understand what the patient is experiencing in their daily life. Her aim for a first session is simple: that a person feels understood, and leaves with hope that things can change.
Many back symptoms change with movement and position. Some movements aggravate them; others ease them. Generic exercise programmes rarely test which is which. Emilie uses the McKenzie approach to look at how symptoms respond to daily activities and to specific repeated movements. She uses a collaborative approach to find movements that settle the symptoms, and then builds from there. She applies the same principle to upper and lower limb problems. The aim is to reduce symptoms, restore movement and return to valued activities.
When pain persists, the body adapts. People brace, guard or avoid certain movements, and these habits can lead pain to become chronic (or persistent). Treatment aimed only at tissues tends to miss this. Emilie uses cognitive functional therapy (CFT), which considers the physical, cognitive, emotional and social sides of pain together. She observes how a person moves, then tests changes with them to see whether symptoms respond. The aim is a way of moving that feels safe, and to build trust in the body to move.
Long-standing pain often arrives with a long list of explanations, many of them contradictory. Seeing clinician after clinician without results can leave people unsure of what their pain means, and doubting they will improve. Emilie starts by making sense of it: what the pain is, why it has persisted, and what changes it. The Örebro questionnaire helps identify factors that may be keeping pain going. A plan is followed only once it makes sense to the person following it.