About OsteopathyOsteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment of faults in the musculo-skeletal system that have occurred due to injury, poor posture, repetitive strain or disease such as arthritis.
I use my hands and observation of movement both to discover the underlying causes of pain and to carry out treatment using a variety of techniques.
Treatment might include soft-tissue stretching and massage: rhythmic joint movements or manipulation to release the tension binding joints together.
What Conditions Can it Help?
The scope of patients that I see is perhaps wider than you would imagine. Half of my patients do have back pain due to ligament, muscle or spinal disc injury. Osteopathy is particularly successful in these acute cases.
However, many patients come to me with conditions that are not so neatly defined. They might have pain in their knee which on closer examination turns out to be caused by poor hip mobility and poor sitting position whilst at work. By restoring the hip mobility, providing exercises to keep the hip stretched and offering advice about how the person sits at work (e.g. not wrapping their legs around the chair legs) we can get the knee working again.
On the other hand, they might have a known condition such as wear and tear in the neck (cervical spondylosis) which has recently flared up and is not responding to painkillers. Again, on further investigation it may turn out that the patient has had a change in lifestyle such as spending longer periods at the computer or taking up a new hobby. This might result in the upper back stiffening up and this has thrown further stress on the neck. By calming down the neck tension and restoring the mobility in the upper back we can get the patient going again. This illustrates how patients difficulties require a thorough knowledge of the whole body mechanics and understanding of how things might have come to a point of break down.
Many issues that patients come to me with are work related. Occupations, whether it be at a computer terminal or a more physically demanding job can, through repetitive actions, create joint and muscle strains. These changes might cause such problems as headaches, neck and shoulder tension, which together with advice about avoiding problems in the future, respond well to Osteopathic treatment.
The scope of patients that I see is perhaps wider than you would imagine. Half of my patients do have back pain due to ligament, muscle or spinal disc injury. Osteopathy is particularly successful in these acute cases.
However, many patients come to me with conditions that are not so neatly defined. They might have pain in their knee which on closer examination turns out to be caused by poor hip mobility and poor sitting position whilst at work. By restoring the hip mobility, providing exercises to keep the hip stretched and offering advice about how the person sits at work (e.g. not wrapping their legs around the chair legs) we can get the knee working again.
On the other hand, they might have a known condition such as wear and tear in the neck (cervical spondylosis) which has recently flared up and is not responding to painkillers. Again, on further investigation it may turn out that the patient has had a change in lifestyle such as spending longer periods at the computer or taking up a new hobby. This might result in the upper back stiffening up and this has thrown further stress on the neck. By calming down the neck tension and restoring the mobility in the upper back we can get the patient going again. This illustrates how patients difficulties require a thorough knowledge of the whole body mechanics and understanding of how things might have come to a point of break down.
Many issues that patients come to me with are work related. Occupations, whether it be at a computer terminal or a more physically demanding job can, through repetitive actions, create joint and muscle strains. These changes might cause such problems as headaches, neck and shoulder tension, which together with advice about avoiding problems in the future, respond well to Osteopathic treatment.
What Benefits can be Expected?
Some patients have short lived symptoms,perhaps waking up with a stiff neck and are easy to help perhaps only requiring one treatment. Other patients have suffered road traffic accidents and they require careful treatment in the recovery phase to get them over the shock. By combining Acupuncture to calm symptoms down and then gentle hands on treatment to release tension and stretch areas that have become restricted, recovery is greatly speeded up.
Some patients have short lived symptoms,perhaps waking up with a stiff neck and are easy to help perhaps only requiring one treatment. Other patients have suffered road traffic accidents and they require careful treatment in the recovery phase to get them over the shock. By combining Acupuncture to calm symptoms down and then gentle hands on treatment to release tension and stretch areas that have become restricted, recovery is greatly speeded up.
