National Arthritis Week 2014

To support National Arthritis Week 2014 (12-19 October) I am offering a fixed price arthritis treatment of £25 per treatment until the end of October (Call 077-1024-4390 and quote the code “NAW2014” or ask for more details). This treatment is usually £50 for the initial consultation and then £37 for the follow up treatments. Osteopathy and the techniques we use to treat arthritic pain (massage, joint mobilisation, electrotherapy, exercise advice) have been proven to help with all manner of arthritic aches and pains including any of the following:

• rheumatic pain
• lumbago
• arthritis
• arthritic pain
• general aches and pains
• joint pain
• hip pain
• neck pain
• knee pain
• back ache
• back pain
• shoulder pain
• elbow pain
• wrist or hand pain
• osteoarthritis
• osteoarthritic pain

So if you have any arthritic or joint pain related aches and pains then ring 077-1024-4390 and quote the code “NAW2014” to book your appointment and get relief from your arthritic pain while this offer lasts.

Back Pain, Sciatica and Sacro-iliac Pain

Back pain, Lumbago, Sciatica, Sciatic Pain, Sacro-Iliac Pain – They are all names given for slightly different kinds of pain felt in the area of the lower back, sometimes (but not always) travelling down the back of the leg. They can be due to the same cause or a variety of different structures in the back causing the pain.

Back pain is responsible for more days off work than the flu! And therefore some G.P.s will only prescribe painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs to treat it. Most of the time this works, but if the back pain persists, then an alternative form of treatment will be required (you don't want to have a dependance on drugs all your life!)

There are many different treatments out there that supposedly will help your back pain, but most of them will just hide the pain or temporarily reduce it so that you can manage to get about. But they don't get to the root of the problem and fix it! There is often a mechanical cause of your back pain and unless that mechanical cause is corrected, it will continue to give you problems for the rest of your life.

As an osteopath, it is up to me to diagnose the cause of your pain and devise a treatment plan to help you get back to optimum back health. This will often involve some movement of the back joints (known as manipulation) some stretching of the surrounding muscles and occasionally some electrotherapy (mild electric current) applied to the area via some sticky pads (like a TENS machine, only more versatile) to make the muscles relax and allow your back to move more freely. I also advise you on which exercises will help to keep you back working properly and what activities you should avoid to prevent this from happening again.

Usually this will involve a course of treatments to get you back to optimum health (you can't build Rome in a day) and the problem will then require no further treatment. Usually 4-6 treatments will do the job, but it is dependant upon the severity of the back pain, and the underlying condition that is causing your pain.

If you're a little older you may require some regular maintenance treatment to keep your back healthy, again we have a maintenance treatment package that will manage this for you. Once a month is advised, but this can vary from once a month to once every three months, any less than this and the treatment becomes ineffective, and you are likely to have recurring episodes of worsening back pain throughout your life. A maintenance plan is your way of looking after your back, the way it has looked after you, up until now.

I'm often asked “why does my back need regular treatment?” and I reply “Consider yourself as a Classic Car. As you get a little older, you need to be driven a little more carefully. You'll need constant attention to keep everything running smoothly and in tune, and if you do this you can expect to keep everything running smoothly for many years to come.” Please note, I see many people that spend more time on their cars than they do looking after their own back health, and that's why they end up seeing me.

Looking after your back this way is the same as looking after yourself in other ways. Some people exercise regularly, others watch what they eat, some do both, but usually all of this is in moderation. This means that they can have lazy days when they do nothing or very little, and have days when pizza, chocolate and ice-cream are all on the menu. But generally this means that they can enjoy good health without being a slave to punishing exercises or never eating the foods that they love.

So if you want to get your back checked out and keep it moving pain free whatever the activity you want to do, or you know that you need some treatment to get rid of those niggling aches and pains, then give me a call on 024-7722-0911 and we'll schedule an appointment to get your back moving free and easy, and check it out to see that it's healthy and will last you for a lifetime, the way it was meant to be.

Back Pain, is yours like this?

Your back pain can really ruin your day, week, month or even year! Surprisingly it's not uncommon for first time client to tell me they've had their pain for years! Especially when most back pain can be managed or even eliminated with the correct treatment. Don't live on pain-killers and anti-inflammatory drugs when there are options to treating your back pain more efficiently and permanently.

If you wake up in the morning and have to think before you move, if you get out of bed as though your twenty years older than you actually are and wish you could sleep for another few hours just to get a bit more energy to start the day, then listen up, things can change. If you have to grunt your way through the day because of your pain and have to think first before moving quickly (in case that pain shoots through you like you've just been tazered!), then help is at hand. If you dread having to bend down to pick that bottle of milk from the fridge door in case your back locks up like you've been kicked by a mule, then I have good news for you. If you fear going out for a night out with friends and are worried that they might mistake your back pain for looking for sympathy because they don't understand how bad this actually feels (does anybody?), then there is something you can do. I'll explain…

Most back pain is incorrectly diagnosed and therefore you end up with a completely ineffective treatment that at best takes the edge off the pain for a short time, or at worst does nothing (but you still keep doing it because..?) It may be that you have received incorrect treatment in the past and have got so fed up with some of the hogwash that you have been told that you now manage your back pain by yourself, living on pain-killers and anti-inflammatory drugs that are only meant to be given short-term and should never be taken as a cure (and indeed can be dangerous if done so)

I use a combination of muscle stretching and joint mobilising techniques and occasionally a little gentle electrotherapy with some massage to get you back in good health again. With osteopathy and the other techniques I employ to treat back pain, I can have you waking up in the morning and getting out of bed like you want to take on the day. You'll feel full of energy and be wanting to take on new challenges (instead of shying away from anything new) You'll look forward to engaging in new activities, sports or hobbies that would have only filled you with dread a few weeks before. You will be happy to help others, you'll be enthusiastic at work, at play, and you'll be going to bed at night with energy to spare and looking forward to what new adventures tomorrow may bring.

So if you suffer with back pain, for any length of time then do yourself the biggest favour your back could ask of you and give me a ring on 077-1024-4390 and book yourself a consultation with me. We will take an hour to find out what's causing your back problem and start some gentle treatment that will have you on the way back to a normal, healthy and active (pain free) life. Don't delay, your back will thank you for it. Do it today and start that journey back to pain fee, activity and an enjoyable “rest of your life”

Call 077-1024-4390 for an appointment today