MY BACK HURTS!

The Holistic approach to neck, back and shoulder problems...

The cause of most chronic back, neck or shoulder misery is trauma or injury.

This trauma can be a sudden twisting injury, a blow to the area, an accident in which you have a sudden compression of bones or discs in the spine, a sudden strain from lifting a heavy object, or it can result from any number of less dramatic events.

Less dramatic events can however still be classified as trauma. Sleeping on a poor mattress for many years, or sitting slumped in a chair in a position which puts strain on your back or neck are subtler forms of trauma.

Chronic trauma is any recurring strain put on your spinal column, however mild the strain may appear to be. Chronic trauma occurs in most of our daily lives and the cumulative effects eventually reach a point at which the spine is no longer able to deal with them.

Psychological stress may also play a pivotal role. People these days are typically over-stressed and under-exercised. If muscles are tense too long pain results. You may lift a 10 pound weight and get the same pain in your back as someone else may do after lifting 200 pounds.

Back pain can also be part of the ageing process when the discs between the spinal vertebrae deteriorate. The discs are designed to act as shock absorbers and if they are not functioning at full efficiency the ligaments surrounding them can be sprained. This causes swelling and discomfort, and puts pressure on the nerve, which can produce crippling pain. The result can often be a herniated disc (something that used to be wrongly referred to as a "slipped disc".

Fortunately, with a careful and considered programme of treatment there is much that can be done to relieve your discomfort and get you back on the road to recovery.

As a clinic we treat such problems holistically - or in other words, we believe that the whole spinal structure must be addressed - not just the bones or the muscles.

To get lasting results we have to influence the flow of energy in the complex whole that your spine represents - the bones, the ligaments and the muscles - and also ensure the availability of micronutrients necessary for the healing process to take place.

Typical treatment includes massage and deep tissue work, magnetic therapy, acupuncture or homoeopuncture. We also use some time honoured osteopathic manipulation techniques.. However - most importantly - our goal is to enable you to finally be in a position to manage any musculoskeletal problems yourself and to that end we will typically provide you with specific exercises to do at home - as well as a list of things to avoid while you are undergoing treatment.

Sticking strictly to these usually gets you there faster! Osteopathy works with muscles, ligaments, and the skeletal system to ensure the optimum results for you.

One of the first questions we usually ask of new patients is "Are you a smoker?" Followed by "Are you a vegetarian?"

The reasons are simple - smoking depletes you of the specific micronutrients that your body needs most for the healing process.

Similarly, unless well-educated and very careful with their diet, vegetarians can lack some of the most important vitamins and minerals needed.

Backache is also frequently a sign of emotional tensions. So anti-stress nutrients are also often useful in the recovery process. When these fundamental building blocks are ignored, any form of treatment is of less effect. We address these issues first.

We have found by experience that a combination of therapies is usually best to deal with most neck, back and shoulder problems. This will most likely include the following: Massage and deep tissue work.

Obviously it is important to encourage the return of optimum blood flow to the affected area and we use our own liniments to achieve this.

Shiatsu or acupressure is also used on various key points. And finally we typically use a combination of pulsed magnetic therapy and acupuncture to break up any substantial muscle knots or stress prior to undertaking osteopathic manipulation. We have found that this gets the best long-term results.

 

If you would like more information about any of the above please contact us.