Conditions that may be helped with Osteopathy

As osteopaths consider all aspects of your body's structure, function and lifestyle it is easy to understand why the list of treatable conditions is very long. Osteopaths are able to help ease pain, discomfort and stiffness by using simple techniques and exercises to return more normal function to joints, muscles, nerves and the circulatory system of arteries, veins and lymphatics.

Not forgetting that the body has its own innate capacity to heal itself, osteopaths provide a helping hand to initiate change and create an environment in which the body does the rest.

Here a just a few conditions that patients regularly say osteopaths help them with.  The list is certainly not exhaustive and so if you would like to know if osteopathy can help you pick up the phone and call now.

Ø Back Pain
Ø Painful and restricted neck
Ø Sciatica
Ø Repetitive strain injuries
Ø Arthritic pain (shoulders, thumbs, hips, knees...)
Ø Shoulder problems/Frozen Shoulder
Ø Tennis elbow
Ø Sporting injuries
Ø Pregnancy related problems
Ø Bursitis
Ø Plantar Fasciitis

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Back Pain

The majority of patients that seek help from an osteopath present with back pain. This may be anything from just stiffness and a niggle to intense, unbearable pain.  The onset may simply be from sleeping awkwardly, a lifting strain, an accident, a sudden jerky movement, wear and tear or from pregnancy related problems. 

Your osteopath is one of the best professionals to diagnose which of many tissues is causing the pain and how best to treat it.  This may be a simple joint restriction that will respond quickly to treatment or it may be more complex like a disc prolapse with nerve irritation or even referral from an internal organ.  It is important to establish what structure is causing your back pain as this will determine what treatment, if any, can be given and the do's and don'ts advice that will aid recovery.

Your General Practitioner has to know a lot about everything.  An osteopath is an expert in musculoskeletal conditions and in particular about back pain as most patients present with this type of pain.  If your osteopath requires some medical investigations to assist in the determination of the "tissue causing symptoms" like blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds and orthopaedic or neurologist consultations they will liaise with your GP.

Most problems turn out to be within the remit of an osteopath's skills.  A variety of correctly chosen techniques are employed and advice on how to best care for the condition are always provided.  Good results are often quickly achieved or your symptoms significantly lessened. Furthermore, your osteopath will give you advice on how to avoid a future recurrence.

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Painful and Restricted Neck

Most of us have experienced a sore neck at some point in time.  This can manifest as just a tired ache from too long at the computer or similar activity, to more intense pain with the neck muscles in spasm and severely limiting movement.

The neck is a tightly packed area of soft and bony tissues together with important internal structures such as the spinal cord, oesophagus, trachea, blood vessels, thyroid gland, etc.  All of which may be the source of your pain, however, in most cases it is likely to be from your muscles, ligaments, discs or facets joints.

Neck pain and stiffness may result from a known trauma like a car accident or falling over, however, it sometimes appears quite out of the blue on waking.  Often this is due to sleeping awkwardly, in a draught, or from an event many days previous, subsequently forgotten.  Some medical conditions can give rise to neck pain and stiffness.

The restricted movement may be from tight muscles guarding the area, due to local swelling, or simply due to pain avoidance.

Pain, weakness, pins and needles, numbness or similar funny feeling may also be felt in the shoulder, arm, forearm, hand and fingers.  This is a result of some structure pressing on a nerve in your neck, or further down its pathway, causing a confused message to be sent to your brain.

Your osteopath will assess your neck after interpreting your answers to many questions and arrive at a working diagnosis.  This may require you to have some medical investigations before any treatment is provided or it may be appropriate to provide treatment there and then.

Tight muscles can be relaxed, swelling can be encouraged to dissipate and restricted joints can be articulated to provide increased freedom of movement. Many neck problems will resolve themselves over time but it may be prudent to get it checked out, receive some relief with treatment and advice on how to resolve the problem and prevent its recurrence.  If in doubt ask your osteopath for their advice.

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Information to come shortly...

I am progressively working my way through this list adding useful information under each condition heading.  Please call me for a no obligation chat about your condition of interest, what it is and how osteopathy might be able to help. Tel: 01397 702257.

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