Alyson Bowden Jordan – Back On Track

I’m a physical activity specialist, I have my own business working with people who suffer from long-term health conditions. Most of them are over the age of 65 so many of them have joint problems galore. I’m qualified in fall prevention as well as cardiac and stroke rehabilitation and pulmonary rehab. My job is very much to help people get back to the best life they can possibly lead after quite serious conditions. I also teach some private classes like pilates and Happy Hearts gentle exercises classes. 

I’ve always liked helping people. I used to work in an accounts office for a long time but decided to go and get some qualifications in teaching exercise. And then, quite by accident, I was asked to cover a session working with some older patients. They responded to me in a way I couldn’t have dreamed of. The local council heard about it and asked if I’d be available to take more classes. Next thing I knew they offered me a full time job and I’ve never looked back.

From a young age I loved being active. I ran, I played tennis, I’ve done a few triathlons in my time. I love to swim, I love to cycle. There is something amazing about going swimming, you leave your phone behind, you put your head down in the water and you just glide through it, for me it’s a perfect way to clear my head. I’m so adventurous I’d climb up a mountain tomorrow if someone would take me. 

Then recently I was teaching my classes and doing what I usually do and I started to feel a bit of pain in my hip. What I noticed was when I was out for a run the pain would get progressively worse the longer I was running. Finally I was out on a run and the pain got so bad I had to stop. I was determined to get to the bottom of the issue. So I set myself some exercises to do, the kind I’d help my patients with, as well as some pilates to see if that might help. 

And then I remembered my husband had been using something called FlexiSEQ. He’d been using it for his terrible arthritis in both his knees. He’d been to physio, he’s waiting for a knee replacement but he was in a lot of pain. So a friend of mine called Sue mentioned FlexiSEQ to me. She’d been recommended it for her mother by her GP. I told my husband he should give it a go. But he said, “I can’t because I’m on blood pressure tablets” but FlexiSEQ is drug-free so he agreed to give it a go. After one day he came to me and said “it’s made no difference!”. I told him he had to persevere for a few days. He never listens. Then about a week later he comes to me and says, “Where’s that FlexiSEQ stuff? Because my knee feels a lot better!” I figured, if it worked for him then it might work for me. He swears by it and he runs his own business in electrical installation so he’s always on his feet and always on the go. He needs to be able to move for his job. 

I asked my husband where his FlexiSEQ was, of course his immediate response was “don’t be using any of my FlexiSEQ, I need it!”. I told him to be quiet and went and found his FlexiSEQ. I made sure I read the instructions and knew it would take a few days to feel the effect of it. I put it on before I went to bed and the next morning the pain was feeling a bit better. I decided to stop running for a bit and keep using the FlexiSEQ and now, the pain has gone. I haven’t been diagnosed with anything in my hip yet, but doing what I do for a living I’m guessing it’s probably a little bit of arthritis that just needs a bit of managing. In fact, it’s because the FlexiSEQ worked so well that made me think it could be arthritis like my husband’s, although not nearly as bad. I’m much younger than him!

What I love about FlexiSEQ is, aside from it actually working, there’s no ibuprofen in it. It’s why my husband can use it and why I’ve been recommending it to my patients. I run a 14 week course for people over 65 who have had a fall or are at risk of having falls and last week I had three or four of them all asking me to remind them of the name of the cream I recommended. I told them, FlexiSEQ, just think of flexible, FlexiSEQ makes you flexible. I stress to them they need to give it a few days and see how you feel. I tell them don’t rub it in and I’ve said if they want help applying it then bring it in next week and we’ll do it together! A physiotherapist I work with has used it as well. In a class the other day she started going squats for no reason, I laughed and asked her what she was doing and she said “I’m making sure I can do squats again, that FlexiSEQ is really working!” She’s like me, active all the time. 

Because the pain has gone away, I’ve stopped using FlexiSEQ. But I’m gearing up to go back out running and I’m a bit nervous about it so my plan is to start using FlexiSEQ again. I just want to have that little bit of confidence FlexiSEQ brings me so I can get running again.