Health and Wellbeing

Living in Freshwater gives you a head start on several things and creates its own problems, and both are worth naming.

The head start. The ocean at the end of the street, the coast walk, the ocean pool, and a culture where being outside early is normal rather than virtuous. That covers movement and daylight, which are two of the three things that matter most. People here generally do not need persuading to exercise.

The problems. The commute over the Spit, which eats ninety minutes and stiffens necks and hips. Sun exposure, which in this country means skin checks are not optional. Load management — a lot of injuries here come from doing plenty of one thing and none of anything else, so shoulders get loaded and hips get stiff. Alcohol, which in a sociable beach suburb is easy to undercount. And a strong outdoor culture making it harder to admit when you are not coping.

What actually gets missed. Resistance training, from mid-life on, for bone and muscle — surfing and swimming are not a substitute. Sleep, undercut by dawn sessions on top of late nights. And the screening list: blood pressure, cervical screening, bowel screening from fifty, skin checks, glucose and lipids by risk, immunisations. That list finds things while they are easy, and none of it happens in a clinic like ours.

We are ten streets from Balgowlah and about twenty from Manly, and a wellbeing appointment here will include the list above rather than skipping it.