Time To Think Outside The Box When It Comes To Back Pain!

Whether it is a painful back condition, neck pain, hip, shoulder or knee issues – an osteopath will see many of these types of complaints in their consultation room daily.

Those that choose to see an osteopath do so usually at the recommendation of someone they know, or as a last chance saloon after having been through various other treatment options with the pain persisting.

I often wonder why there still appears to be a misconception around osteopathy, that it is quackery, not evidence based and at worst ‘dangerous’. Whilst the answer is multifactorial, the dominance of modern medicine for healthcare can lead to misleading claims about those seen as ‘alternative’. However, people are starting to make their own choices about who and where they can best be helped – particularly when it comes to chronic health problems, and lifestyle related illness – alternative healthcare can help reduce the burden from the NHS.

There are many similarities between physiotherapists, orthopaedic specialists and osteopaths. This includes our thorough neurological and orthopaedic assessment and case history. We train for four to five years to Masters level, and we follow modules including lots of anatomy (particularly musculoskeletal), pathophysiology, pharmacology and psychology alongside our osteopathy principles and technique. We really get to know the human body very well. This is fundamental to how we help people with a deep understanding of how the body’s structure is aligned with how well it functions, potentially leading to painful muscles, joints and spinal conditions when this is out of balance.

When you visit your osteopath, you will find that you are given up to an hour for your initial consultation – this is lots of time to get to know the client, take a case history, do an assessment and treatment too. Having this time allows a therapeutic relationship to be built between the patient and practitioner, which research shows is imperative in creating a positive outcome for the patient. You must feel that you trust your practitioner and being listened to with enough time to explain everything that is relevant also has a cathartic effect enhancing beneficial outcomes.

While our case history is very much as you might find from your physio or doctor, the assessment looks at the interplay between different parts of your body. You may not realise that a leg length difference is causing nerve impingement in your neck because of the shift in spinal curvature as compensation for a longer or shorter leg. This is where it is important that the root cause of your pain is sought. I have diagnosed several cases of hypermobility syndrome which not only gives people ‘aha’ moments about their pain, but also their head aches, IBS and low blood pressure. Often not recognised by other practitioners it is more common than once thought and awareness is rising.

The treatments applied are directed at improving structure and function of the body. Encouraging inflammation to dissipate, blood flow to our joints and muscles to be improved and tight muscles and joints to become more mobile. This all leads to better pain outcomes. We cannot just look at one system or body part in isolation such as the muscular system, and we cannot just ask people to do stretches – this may work in some cases, but as an osteopath I am looking at the whole person and this truly makes a difference.

If you would like to £10 off your evidence based, safe and effective osteopathic initial consultation please quote this article on booking.