Is sleep position important.

Your sleep position can cause problems and be responsible for your back, neck or arm pain.It is important to find out what is the best sleep position for you and your painful problem.Sometimes the position causes the pain, others the pain causes an issue with the position you usually sleep in. The osteopath is ideally suited to help you with these issues and give advise or treatment that can resolve sleep problems.Nerve entrapment, subacromial compression,double crush,brachial neuritis,dead hands,numbness down the arm,are all things that can be cause or  be aggravated  by your sleep posture.

With all of these states, you will need to consider; have I got the right bed, mattress and base for my problem? The Osteopath is an ideal person to discuss this with.

Wrist injury or RSI

We are in a unique position to help with wrist problems. We can access by feeling the joint movements.Carpel tunnel, repetitive strain injury, Dequervans,tendonitis, tenosynovitis, pins and needles down the arm,nerve root entrapment,brachial neuritis,stiff neck,are all problems that we are ideally trained to deal with.We can identify the cause, look at your posture or work position, the ergonomics of your everyday life or hobbies and improve the mechanics that will allow the body to heal; but also look at solutions to help prevent it’s return. Showing exercises and strategies to look after your body at work rest and play.

Sciatica is a symptom not a diagnosis.Sciatica is pain and possibly pins and needles caused by pressure,or inflammation of the sciatic nerve,which can have several causes.If someone tells you what is causing your sciatica,that is a diagnosis.

We as Osteopaths can make a diagnosis, to help you understand what is causing your pain,which maybe sciatica or it maybe sciatic pain i.e. pain in the region of the sciatic nerve( which is all the way down the back of your leg).Once that diagnosis is made the Osteopath is trained to advise what is your next best course of action. Many causes of sciatica can be helped with Osteopathic treatment,but some will need referral back to your GP and onto a specialist who may decide you need an MRI scan to show what is causing the compression of the nerve.This can often be a prolapsed disc and the specialist will then decide what further treatment is required.

Often though, pain down the back of the leg,in the region of the sciatic distribution,is not classical sciatica as just described and has a mechanical source, which can be readily treated by the Osteopath.1 type is when the nerve is compressed by the muscles of the buttock,known as piriformis syndrome; another is referred pain from the sacro-iliac joint. This is when the nerve supplying your pelvic joint,makes you feel the pain down the back of the leg.

So it is seen that this is a complicated matter and needs specialist training and a clear understanding of medicine and how the body works. That is all part of the Osteopaths 4 year, full time training, up to Masters level,recognised and overseen by University.

Can osteopathy work on feet?

Yes we are generally very good at helping with the wide range of conditions and problems people can get with their feet.

Your feet have to be very strong,and there are 2 arches that keep the  sole of the foot from being flat on the floor.These are the longitudinal and transverse arches.Both can be the cause for foot problems and thus pain. If the longitudinal arch starts to collapse this is know as a flat foot or over pronation, which can cause a lot of pain,and this can be helped; some people never develop this arch and have flat-feet from their teens, which does not usually cause them any pain.When the transverse arch fails,it is known as dropped metatarsal arch,which can feel like you are walking on a pebble;it can be very painful,and can be associated with Plantar faciitits.All these can be helped by treatment and useful advise given.Often after a simple sprained ankle the swelling does not fully disappear and the joint never sits right which can then lead to achilles problems or calf strains,and yet the original injury can be helped by manipulation.

Osteopaths will often work closely with podiatrists and can resolve many of the chronic pains and difficulties of the foot and ankle.Equally we will often look at the foot mechanics as the underlying cause of knee, hip or lowback issues.

 

Yes, very much so.In fact they will respond much quicker to treatment as their bodies heal faster anyway and osteopathic treatment is just a way of facilitating the healing process.So often kids will complain of pains and as parents we often do not take them seriously and aches and pains are passed off by the medics as ‘growing pains’ or the kid is just trying to gain attention.But they can have sprains and strains just like us but also they are growing and so it is essential to correct any stresses on the system before it alters the development or becomes something that cannot be changed.

Treatment can be very gentle and children respond really quickly and well to treatment.This does not have to cranial treatment which is very commonly the approach of choice, and problems dealt with early, can avoid huge issues when the child is fully developed.If you are unsure if your child needs treatment just ask to bring them in for a short consultation and we will be able to tell you if they may gain benefit.

Equally if you feel your child would benefit from cranial treatment; we have practitioners who use this approach,just ask.