Osteopathy

Many of our patients blame their aches and pains on their own bad postural habits; the implication is that if only they could maintain good posture in the chair at work, they would not encounter the same problems. Whilst good posture can help, it is part of a wider picture, and in most cases Osteopathic treatment is a very effective part of the solution. Here are ten reasons why:

1. There is no such thing as perfect chair posture; human beings are not designed to sit in chairs all day
2. A degree of objectivity is needed to evaluate the problem; this is very hard to do for yourself, and the trained eye of an Osteopath will quickly focus on the key issues
3. Assessment means that all related health problems may be identified at the same time, and treated appropriately in a structured and integrated manner
4. The result of sitting in chairs from schooldays onwards is that your body will have adapted e.g. certain joints will be stiffer; treatment can identify and modify those factors
5. Personalised exercise prescription can focus your efforts onto the most effective, relieving and restorative exercises for you as an individual
6. The first aim of treatment is to guide you back towards a sustainable state of relative comfort
7. Treatment is also aimed at improving your general health and mobility over the very long term
8. Consideration of lifestyle factors (such as work patterns or dietary habits) means that improvements are more likely to be sustained
9. It is common for patients to express surprise and delight that they are experiencing a state of physical ease and wellbeing they had forgotten was possible
10. The experience can equip you with the understanding and means to tackle similar health issues as and when they arise in the future

We’ve posted a few entries about posture at work – on a wide variety of topics such as

• what sort of bag is best for my back?
• Top tips for good posture at work (in the office)
• It’s just my posture … the slippery slope towards work related injury

I’ll post again in the next day or so some simple 2 minutes exercises that can help with good posture.

As you will know if you have received our newsletter, we have just launched our online exercise library. We hope that it will help not only our patients, but also the general public at large to implement body balance and posture enhancement exercises safely and effectively. Click on Exercises from the navigation bar at the top of the page to access the welcome page and videos.

If you have any questions or feedback regarding these videos, please contact us on 020 8566 0767 (Ealing) or 01895 2000 50 (Uxbridge), or by email at help@bridgetohealth.co.uk. You can also post a comment here (at the bottom of this post).

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a condition affecting the junctional area between the wrist and the heel of the hand. This narrow space carries important nerves and tendons supplying the palm and fingers; when it becomes congested, there may be symptoms such as pain, numbness, tingling or weakness in the fingers or hand, or problems with manual dexterity. The congestion may be the result of a number of different general conditions involving fluid congestion, including pregnancy and rheumatoid arthritis, or it may be more local in nature. Careful evaluation of the cause needs to be made, as the appropriate treatment will vary accordingly.

Although Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a common finding, it is also often misdiagnosed, such as in cases of problems with the base of the neck, where the nerves that supply the hand exit from the spinal column, or general tightness and congestion in the forearm itself, which is frequently found in deskbound computer operators.

Treatment

Standard medical treatment includes splinting, steroid injections or in severe cases, surgery, but it is worth starting with physical therapy such as osteopathy, because the treatment will be based on careful evaluation and diagnosis, and may prevent the need to consider more invasive methods.

Can an osteopath help?

Mathieu, Jessica and I are registered osteopaths in Ealing and Uxbridge. Please call either clinic – 020 8566 0767 (Ealing) or 01895 20050 (Uxbridge) – to speak directly to one of us about your symptoms, whether we can help and the options available (no obligation – read more about what to expect on your first visit here).

We often hear this from patients when they first come to our Uxbridge or Ealing clinic, and although there are conditions where “it’s a muscle problem” is a reasonable (if limited) statement, there are far more instances where it really is not the case.

Muscles are the galley slaves of the body; they do the hard work, but do not make the decisions about what work is to be done or issue the orders, and they tend to work faithfully under whatever circumstances they encounter to the point of exhaustion and failure. Their persistent complaints (aches and pains) are usually the warning sign that something is wrong, i.e. muscle pain is the symptom, but the problem is wider, and the solution should accord with that.

A typical example would be where a patient has persistent neck and shoulder tension; massage may help, but the tightness returns, often because of restrictions in the vertebral joints around the base of the neck.

At the very least, more aspects of the musculoskeletal system will be involved. Muscles move bones like levers in relation to each other by articulating joints, and they must coordinate in a cascade of events for their effort to be synergistic with the whole. The nervous system performs this role of communication and coordination of action and movement, and the cardiovascular system takes care of the raw materials (such as oxygen and nutrients) and disposal needs of the muscles themselves. Any compromise in the function of any of these systems is likely to produce symptoms local to the site of action, i.e. the muscles. How a problem is defined will most likely tell you something about the practitioner – e.g. a massage therapist may tend to describe conditions in terms of muscles. As Abraham Maslow said

“If the only tool you use is a hammer, you are going to tend to hit things”.

How can an osteopath help?

It is the task of an Osteopath to strive to understand the processes involved in creating a condition of unease or pain, and introduce appropriate measures (such as treatment, exercise or nutrition) to relieve the symptoms and undo the causes.

In fact the Osteopath aims not only to provide symptom relief, but also to ensure that the patient is equipped to reduce the incidence and severity of recurrences as well. Or to put it another way, Osteopaths can help you keep your galley slaves happier and for longer.

Can we help you? We are registered osteopaths in Ealing and Uxbridge. Please do explore our website to see what we treat and learn more about us.

This month, Laurent has been working very hard getting our new informational exercise videos ready to publish. Most are now online at www.youtube.com/bridgetohealthvideo and we will shortly be adding a reference/index page to our website here so that we and our patients can quickly find their individually recommended exercises.

Each video is about 1 minute long – an example for Lower Back – Pelvis – Core Stability is below:

Stretching of lumbar and pelvic muscles
This exercise aims to enable a relaxing and healthy distraction of every joint from the lower back through to the ankle. It is as useful for athletes as it is for people suffering from osteo-arthritis.

Thank you again Laurent for all your help.

Can an osteopath help you? We are registered osteopaths in Ealing and Uxbridge. Please do explore our website to see what we treat and learn more about us.

Frozen shoulder is the colloquial term for adhesive capsulitis.

What is Frozen Shoulder?
As the name implies, it is a condition affecting the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint, which is quite loose in order to accomodate the wide range of movement that your arms require. At rest, the necessary laxity manifests as an exta fold or pouch below the joint under the arm. The sides of this fold can become stuck together, no longer offering any reserve flexibility to the joint movement. This can exist as a stand-alone condition, but is often seen in conjunction with related issues such as injury, infection, immobility, diabetes, arterial disease or arthritic conditions.

Symptoms
The symptoms usually start with pain in and around the shoulder which may resolve, leaving stiffness on movement, especially preventing the arm being lifted above the head. This in itself does not easily distinguish it from a number of other conditions affecting the joint, ligaments or muscles nearby, and many more people are ‘diagnosed’ with Frozen Shoulder than actually have it. However, a trained manual therapist such as an osteopath should be able to distinguish between them by careful attention to case history and examination.

Recovery
It is not adviseable to treat prior to a clear diagnosis as the approach needs to be relevant to the individual condition, but in most cases there is significant improvement with appropriate treatment and exercise. The condition often self-resolves over a two year period, but suitable treatment can reduce recovery time to a fraction of that.

If you have been diagnosed with or you are in pain because of Frozen Shoulder ask your local osteopath if they can help. We are osteopaths in Ealing (telephone 020 8566 0767) and Uxbridge (01895 20050) – telephone either clinic to speak directly to myself, Jessica or Mathieu about your issue and the options available (I promise no obligation – click here to read more about what to expect on your first visit).

We frequently see patients who are convinced that they have a ‘trapped nerve’, but although the turn of phrase is highly descriptive, it is somewhat misleading.

On the face of it, it seems to make sense: it describes a feeling of sudden pain brought on by movement. It sometimes refers to low back or buttock pain, but perhaps more commonly to neck pain when turning the head.

The sensation occurs when a particular joint motion becomes impaired or difficult; under these circumstances, the body uses pain signals to inhibit movement and ensure that it is reduced to a more manageable speed or range. The nerves are working perfectly in the sense that they are telling you that there is a problem, but they are not the problem itself.

Osteopathy is a good choice of investigation and treatment for anything that feels like a trapped nerve because it strives to uncover the underlying cause that is producing the sensation. Treatment can then be specific and effective, rather than vague and hopeful.

There are exceptions, but often the catching sensation resolves as normal movement and activity are restored to the area in question. Diagnosis and appropriate treatment will also usually produce a more complete resolution than just waiting for it to recover; otherwise, the body simply gets used to the compromise and adapts to it, which may seem like recovery, but often results in recurring epsodes of similar discomfort. Over time, the accomodation can become more ingrained, and athough it is never too late to make a change for the better, the sooner the underlying problem is treated, the more complete the recovery is likely to be.

Can an osteopath help you? Bridge to Health are osteopaths in Ealing (020 8566 0767) and Uxbridge (01895 20050) – do telephone either clinic to speak directly to a fully qualified and registered osteopath. (click here to read more about what to expect on your first visit)

The term sciatica can be expanded to “irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve”.

The nerve roots emerge from various spinal levels in your low back and then gather together before running through your buttock region and down the back of your leg. If the nerve is irritated, symptoms can include loss of muscle power and/or sensory changes such as pins and needles, numbness or sharp pain. The affected area is usually the lower leg and/or foot. The nerve irritation can be associated with structural problems in the low back, such as a disc bulge, but the actual vertebral level of the irritation can vary widely and there are other possibilities such as pinching in the sacral or buttock region.

Many more people are told or believe they have sciatica than actually have it. For example, if you have low back pain radiating into the back of the leg, sciatica is one possibility but by no means the only issue. If your symptoms do not extend below the knee, it is less likely that the sciatic nerve is involved.

When you have your condition evaluated by an osteopath for the likely cause you will be able to get appropriate advice and/or treatment. Bear in mind that the term sciatica tells you nothing about where the nerve irritation is, or why it is happening. However, if your symptoms are severe, or are affecting the saddle area or you have disturbances to bladder or bowel function then you should treat it as an emergency (i.e. go to your nearest hospital’s Accident & Emergency).

An osteopath will consider your symptoms, your medical history and their examination findings in coming to a diagnosis as to what is happening to cause your discomfort. Treatment should then be specific and effective; occasionally, there may be cause for further investigation, but then you will be advised about appropriate action in the meantime. Even if you already have a diagnosis such as disc herniation, you may well benefit from treatment because an improvement to the function of the local musculoskeletal structures usually offers some relief and can speed up tissue recovery.

If you are just starting your third term of pregnancy, your baby’s weight becomes significantly more noticeable, and you will increasingly tend to experience lower back, pelvic and perineal pain or discomfort. These symptoms can be upsetting as they increase both your level of tiredness and tension (particularly if you are still working or looking after young children) and perhaps concern about a potentially more protracted and uncomfortable delivery.

This is where a gym ball may turn out to be a faithful ally. We recommend that our pregnant patients start using a gym ball as their main chair towards the end of the second term – for eating, working at the computer or even watching TV.

Sitting on the slightly unstable and mobile gym ball favours better seated posture, gently mobilises the pelvis and lower back, and helps massage and relax the perineal muscles.

We also tend to use a gym ball when treating pregnant mums (or mums to be), and we have devised a simple treatment routine that supportive partners can safely give during the final weeks of pregnancy, reducing spouse tension and pain from the neck to the pelvis. This has the cumulative benefits of involving Dads positively, providing tangible relief to the Mums, and further enhancing the couple’s relationship at an important stage of their partnership.

I developed this treatment routine to help my own wife with her third and fourth pregnancies. Her first two deliveries had been protracted and traumatic (our eldest child was delivered by emergency C-section), and in stark contrast, our last two children were born relatively peacefully at home. My wife asserts that this result is significantly owed to a combination of osteopathic treatment and her gym ball routine.

To find out more about osteopathic healthcare support during pregnancy and after delivery, do contact us – we are located in Uxbridge and opened a second osteopaths’ in Ealing last September.

Gym balls are very cheap (from less than £10) and can be found in the likes of Sports Direct and Argos. You might also find this post helpful: Reducing aches and pains during pregnancy (and how to speed up post-natal recovery)

I have been pondering lately about why it is that osteopathy seems to be such a useful tool for improving physical comfort and mobility; surely we are built to self-maintain in good health and working order? Yet most people seem to benefit greatly from treatment, whether they are physically active or not.

The answer is complex in detail, but simple in summary: lifestyle!

The truth of the matter is that we are living in a man-made environment, whereas we have spent millions of years evolving in the natural world. Our mind and body have been honed by nature to do one thing, whilst we are steadfastly determined to do something else entirely. Osteopathy respects this natural heritage, and tries to redress the balance somewhat.

What does this have to do with your stiff back?

Put simply, if you don’t use your body the way it was designed to work, it (i.e. you) will suffer. (Notice that I am distinguishing between your body and your self, which is a man-made distinction, and will be the subject of another blog in the near future). For example, human beings were not designed to sit in a chair all day, year upon year. I find it ironic that much is made of “the right way to sit”, whereas ultimately there is no right way; it’s a bit like saying “what’s the right way to hurt my body?”.

Many of the physical, stuctural problems that people encounter with their body is the result of the chair, but it is by no means the only culprit. I mention it here, because it is the accepted way most people spend a huge amount of their precious life, slouching in a chair, just like I am right now. Chairs are a fact of life, but the ill-effects of using them can be greatly moderated by what else you do with your body.

So what do you do about it?

This is a very good question. As someone once said, a good question is difficult to answer, and a very good question may have no answer at all! The point I am making is that it is worth keeping an open mind to what might constitute an answer, because it can be a constant source of enrichment in your life. Many of the wisest souls in the world of health and welbeing have been driven to their understanding through extreme illness or disability; the Chinese character for ‘crisis’ also means ‘opportunity’. So your back ache could be the start of a new chapter of investigation, discovery and enrichment in your life. The most important thing you can do about it is to begin looking for health: investigate, experiment (within reason), and gradually you will begin to make a difference to your own health experience.

Whilst there can be no universal answer, there is a good chance that your back problems are going to improve with conservative treatment. There are always exceptions, and this is a good reason for seeking advice as to whether there is any cause for concern, but most back ache can be at least improved if not transformed by regular, focussed exercises. By that I do not mean a 30 minute run on concrete roads in an old pair of trainers. An osteopathic assessment will look at the structure of your back and the way it moves. Treatment is then designed to bring the structure back towards alignment and balance, and work on the mechanics of joint motion to create ease of function (i.e. movement). And as the musculoskeletal structure (i.e. your spine and limbs) begins to return to functioning in the way it was designed, there is commonly a corresponding sense of ease and wellbeing that patients often comment on as an unexpected bonus.

I am an osteopath in Ealing (and also Uxbridge twice a week) where I provide treatment and pain relief for back pain, neck or shoulder ache… Do get in touch if you have questions or want some advice whether osteopathy can help you.