There is always a reason why your work related problem comes to the surface and gives you pain. Work related strains and injuries are usually disorders of the muscles, tendons and joints and symptoms can vary from mild aches and pains to severe pain. There are a number of work-related activities that can put a strain on your body and cause pain such as; longer hours at your desk or behind the wheel, manual handling and lifting, forceful or repetitive movements and unsuitable postures. When working long hours you may find you have less time to exercise and the opportunity to counteract the sitting posture diminishes and it really turns up the volume on pain. We will discuss with you the impact work may be having on your body and agree on the most effective course of action to prevent further pain, as well as providing hands on treatment.

Treatment

We aim to provide a hands-on treatment for immediate relief of your symptoms.

We will discuss how your problem occurred and explain how it has affected you and not the next person.

For your effective return to work we may need to work alongside Occupational Health or provide off-work certificates if time off work is required.  All eventualities will be discussed with you during the consultation.

Advice on work-related posture, ergonomics or technique in your trade will be given to help you manage the problem yourself. 

Neck and Shoulder Pain

Slouching at our desk encourages our shoulders to become rounded. This can result in poor alignment of the shoulder muscles (‘rotator cuff’) encouraging areas of poor blood supply and ‘acid in the tissues’ causing aches and burning pains.

Neck pain is often caused by a forward-chin posture as we then tend to hinge or look up at our computer screen or environment. This can irritate joints in the neck and possibly cause arm pain and even tingling. Sustained positions at work can cause bad posture that may cause strains to the joints and discs in the low back.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) or Tenosinivitis

Overuse of the keyboard and mouse causes our tendons (extensions of our muscles which attach to bone) and the sheath which encases them to become inflamed. This may make the gliding movement of the tendon in its sheath difficult as we type. As a sufferer you may experience aching, tenderness and mild swelling of the elbow, wrist, hand or thumb.

Carpal Tunnel

Carpal tunnel syndrome usually has more than one cause. In individuals based at a computer persistent use of their forearm muscles can inflame the tendons at the wrist. As there is limited space in the tunnel of the wrist the swollen tendons increase the pressure on the nerve and causes pain and tingling in the hand.

By improving movement in the joints of the wrist and enabling better drainage these symptoms can be minimised.

Headaches

Existing restrictions or strains in the joints of the neck will encourage muscles to be tight. These can generate headaches typically at the base of the skull, top of the head and around the eyebrow area. Furthermore a forward-chin posture at your desk can cause the muscles behind the neck to work harder to hold your head up. This is treated with manipulation of the problematic muscles and joints to improve movement and therefore comfort.

Pulled Muscles

Manual handling of loads or repetitive movements may cause muscular strains within the muscle itself or at their insertion points where they attach to bone. In work where intense movement of the hands is required a dull ache or pain can be felt at the wrist or elbow. Pain at night in these areas can suggest that the problem has been building over time.

Osteopathic treatment aims to treat the area and de-load it by making neighbouring joints function better. Advice on self-management will quicken your return to normal.

Back Pain and Sciatica

Sustained stooping, twisting, and general bad posture can put pressure on the joints of the back and cause local aches and pains with pain or tingling in the legs and toes. If severe you can even injure the shock-absorbing discs in your back (‘slipped discs’).
Our objective is to have each joint in your back working through its full range so that loads are spread evenly and minimising the occurrence of a joint or disc strain

Symptoms

Most people feel that nothing can be done for arthritis except take pain medication.

Arthritis is a common problem as we get older and can be a major factor in people stopping doing the things they enjoy. This is partly due to pain, but mostly because they are scared of doing further damage. Keeping your joints moving is tantamount when it comes to reducing the pain and inflammation of arthritis.

Treatment

• Osteopathic treatment can help relieve pain by:
• Improving stiffness
• Eliminating muscle spasm
• Reducing inflammation and swelling
• Restoring joint mobility
• Preventing neighbouring joints from stiffening up.
• Reducing inflammation and muscle spasm helps prevent further damage.

Pain is not nice and stops you from moving the joint comfortably. The main reason we get pain with joint degeneration is due to inflammation and muscle spasm, not the joint itself. Once pain sets in you start to avoid using the joint. This may cause you to over-use other parts of your body which in turn puts extra stress on them.

By gently moving your joints we can begin to break the cycle and greatly improve the stiffness, pain and swelling. Once the swelling decreases and the muscle spasm has eased you can begin to use the joint again, and help prevent damage to other parts.

With improved movement you will need less pain medication.

Once we start to show you how to use your joint more efficiently and you gain more confidence the pain will reduce. This means you won’t need to use as much pain medication or anti-inflammatories. Consequently, side effects such as stomach ulcers and constipation can be avoided.

Using the affected joint in a normal fashion is the best way to prevent further damage and degeneration.

Usually a traumatic event or a change to your routine can bring about foot pain. This can encourage the muscles to fatigue on the inner part of sole (plantar fasciitis) or allow tight muscles to tug at the heel (achilles tendinopathy).

Foot Pain Treatment

By improving the function of the ankle and the joints within the arches of the foot, the pain will ease and normal movement will return.  This will be in addition to releasing the tight muscles which influence joint movement, and possibly taping the joint to give additional support in your recovery period, allowing you to continue with your training.

An osteopath’s highly developed sense of touch can identify the specific problem to your foot pain.  We will often be able to tell you the process of how and why it came about by assessing the local tissues as well as being aware of others mechanical issues which may have made you use your foot differently and without you noticing! 

Problems we diagnose and treat include:

Plantar Fascitis, Metatarsalgia, Heel Spurs, Arch problems, Bunions, Neuromas (trapped nerves), Tendon & Ligament Problems.

Osteopathy and Sports Injuries

People don’t often think about osteopathy when it comes to sport injuries however athletes of all disciplines find osteopathy treatment extremely beneficial. We work with both professional and amateur athletes of all ages, disabled and able-bodied men and women to identify the source of injuries and help to get you back into action as quickly as possible.

Osteopathy is both preventative and reactive, meaning not only do people seek osteopathic treatment for injuries but also to prevent injuries from happening. It is inevitable that at some point in a professional or amateur athletes career they will experience an injury. Regular Osteopathic treatment can help to keep your body in optimum physical shape in order to prevent injuries from occurring.

Treatment

Our main focus is the way in which the whole body functions, we are ideally placed to help you recover from injury and recurrent strains and to improve your overall performance as well. Injuries are often the result of poor joint movement People mistakenly think that pulled muscles are solely because they are tight, and don’t appreciate that a joint that is mal-functioning can cause muscle strains. Whilst massage and stretching helps it is usually not enough if the joints are not moving through their full range. When joints are moving well, the demand on the muscles is far less. This extra movement in the joint will minimise the risk of injury and speed recovery if you are injured. By increasing local joint movement we can over-ride muscle spasm and free off joint restrictions, thus allowing full resolution of your injury.

• Back Strain
• Shoulders
• Tennis Elbow
• Wrists
• Hamstring / Groins
• Knees
• Shin Splints
• Ankles
• Feet / Heel

Football, tennis, golf… any sport that involves twisting and turning sharply will put a strain through the back. Normally if you are supple and your joints are mobile this is not a problem. However, our lifestyles cause our mid-backs to become stiff making our low back work harder and therefore more vulnerable to injury. Our objective is to have each joint in your back working through its full range so that loads are spread evenly and minimising the occurrence of a joint or disc strain.

Tennis Elbow

Tennis (& Golfer’s) elbow is used to describe any pain and tenderness around the outer edges of the elbow joint. It occurs when the muscle insertions at the elbow start to ‘tug’ at the bone leading to inflammation. Some cases resolve with ice and anti-inflammatory, though often they persist due to overuse of the muscles during work and leisure time. Improving the range of movement in the wrist and shoulder, as well as the spine, has a dramatic affect on reducing the tension at the muscle insertion, and allowing the inflammation to resolve. This can help avoid the need for steroid injections.

Hamstring / Groins

The hamstrings are very susceptible to injury due to them being weaker than their counterparts, the quadriceps. This means that any imbalance in the hip, knee or pelvis can cause tears anywhere along the length of the muscle. This often occurs as the leg is decelerating (e.g. after kicking a football), or when the leg is suddenly straightened (e.g. as a runner sets off). When treating a recurrent injury we address any signs of pelvic imbalance and previous knee or ankle injuries that may put extra strain on the hamstrings. Believe it or not, a muscle rarely strains on its own when everything around it is running smoothly.

Frozen Shoulder or Adhesive Capsulitis

Symptoms of frozen shoulder

The good news is a Frozen Shoulder is often over-diagnosed. By this we mean that there are a range of shoulder problems which mimic the problems of pain and restriction.  The problem often occurs between 40-60 years of age, favours females and has an association with people with Diabetes.  It can follow a background of increased use, such as when we have hurt the opposite arm, or decreased use, such as when we have hurt the same arm. 

Treatment of frozen shoulder

At the practice we can offer advice based on experience and the latest research. We can provide treatment when applicable and liaise with your G.P or consultant if dual management is needed. 

Whiplash can cause more than just neck pain.

Symptoms of whiplash

Your body absorbs a lot of force from the impact of the accident and this may develop in areas such as your low back, ribs and shoulders. This is normal and is not serious. However, the pain can be quite bad and stop you from moving normally. 

Treatment for whiplash

A visit to the practice soon after the incident allows us to assess the level of damage and prevent any unnecessary build up of pain and muscle spasm, allowing you to get back to your usual routine more quickly.

Often symptoms take their time to develop.

Most people only develop symptoms a day or two after the incident. That is a good sign. It means the damage to your neck is not serious. The ‘soft-tissue’ elements will have been strained (muscles, ligaments etc) and may take several weeks to resolve, but there will be no lasting damage.

It is common to get headaches after whiplash, as well as arm pain and tingling.

These symptoms are common and can be a distressing side-effect of the whiplash. By releasing muscle spasm and calming the joint irritation we can quickly ease these symptoms. Anxiety and stress will also make these symptoms worse which makes getting the right diagnosis quickly all the more important.

Back pain is common but that doesn’t mean its normal for it to occur

Symptoms

Most back pain is mechanical and comes from the muscles, discs, ligaments, and small joints. The increased incidence of back pain is directly related to our sedentary lifestyles and increased stress levels. It’s no coincidence that mechanical problems occur at times of pressure or change of activity levels.

Treatment

Osteopathic treatment is often the most effective first line of treatment in correcting mechanical problems caused by back pain and preventing things from becoming persistent. A programme of exercise is often given to help restore and maintain good mobility.

Back problems are often misunderstood.

Problems with your back can cause pain in areas you may not associate with coming from your back. Leg pain and buttock ache, groin pain or tingling in the toes can all come from the base of the spine. This is why a strain to a disc can be mistaken for a hamstring strain.

Conversely, a problem elsewhere in the body may give you back pain. A problem with your hip or ankle, for example, may cause you to walk differently leading to a pain in your back.

By listening to your problem we can help work out the cause of your pain. Only then can we successfully plan a course of action to get you well again.

The longer you put it off, the harder it will be to get going again.

Your back is designed for movement – the sooner you get moving and back to normal activities, the sooner you’ll feel better.

Getting stiff joints and muscles working can be painful. Athletes accept that when they start training, their muscles hurt and they have to work through the pain barrier. But that does not mean they are doing any damage.

As we start to help you move your back better you should be able to do a little more each time, until you are back (excuse the pun!) doing the things you enjoy again.

X-rays and MRI scans don’t usually help in mechanical back pain.

They may even be misleading and show ‘degeneration’ which is normal wear and tear. Even injury to a disc will rarely need to have a scan as the clinical evaluation will give us all the information we need to determine the severity of your injury. Osteopaths are trained in diagnosing all mechanical back problems and knowing when referral is appropriate. Due to our highly trained sense of touch we are well suited to diagnose your pain without the need for further evaluation.

Anxiety, stress and muscle tension – a vicious cycle.

Anxiety and stress can increase the amount of pain we feel. Pain causes tension, which can cause muscle spasm and the muscles themselves can become painful. This vicious cycle is hard to break and can actually make the problem worse.

By easing the pain and muscle stiffness, and encouraging you to use you back again, we can ‘turn down the volume’ on your pain and allow you to get moving again.

Remember: Hurt does not mean harm – use it or lose it!

Pregnant women respond far quicker to treatment than those who aren’t pregnant. Osteopathy is safe at all times during pregnancy

Common pain problems in pregnancy that we can treat include:

• Backache / Sciatica
• Pubic Pain
• Carpal Tunnel
• Heartburn
• Breathing Difficulty / Rib Pain
• Swollen Ankles / Varicosities

The dramatic changes in posture and weight of the uterus during pregnancy can lead to aches and pains in your back and legs. This is caused by increased tension in the back muscles and irritation of the lumbar and sacro-iliac joints.

Also, any problems you had prior to your pregnancy may be highlighted. Using a variety of gentle techniques to ease supporting muscles and ligaments we can help relieve these problems.

How Osteopathy can help you in the prenatal and postnatal stages of your pregnancy:

• Preparing you for the demands of labour
• Helping you to recover after birth
• Is osteopathy safe during pregnancy?

An important part of preparation for childbirth is to ensure the mother’s pelvis is structurally balanced to allow for delivery. Previous problems with the pelvic bones, coccyx or sacrum can leave increased tension in the muscles and ligaments. This can affect the ability of the pelvis to expand during delivery and allow the smooth and efficient passage of the baby.

Prevention of tears and trauma is the aim of all midwives, obstetricians, and other birthing practitioners, and osteopathic treatment may help limit the eventual trauma onto the perineum and pelvic floor.

Osteopathic treatment is effective at releasing old strains within the pelvis, thus giving the best chance of an easy and uncomplicated labour.