About Osteopathy

Most patients attend the clinic because something ‘hurts’. In most cases the issue is easily identified and treatment can start straight away.

Whether it is your back that is sore, a bone that is broken, or your stomach that is inflammed, the bodies response to an injury (stimulus) is the same; muscle tightness, inflammation and pain. Osteopaths believe that the body has the capacity to heal itself and that manual treatment to improve the flow of blood, reduce muscle tension and decrease pain signals helps speed your recovery.

Often we can be preventing our bodies ability to heal by holding ourselves stiffly, for fear of doing further damage. Simple management advice alongside treatment, helps you to understand your problem and restore your body to its normal pain free functioning.

Osteopathic manual techniques include; massage, joint articulation and joint manipulation. At Nimble we also use Dry Needling (Western Acupuncture) when appropriate.

 

Modern examples of how pain can develop:

1) Tension around joints or in muscles causes reciprocal compression and restriction on your internal organs e.g. tight ribs might restrict our capacity to take a deep breath and vice versa, if you have a restrictive lung condition like Asthma, you may not be fully expanding your ribs, resulting in joint tension. Most clients report that they feel generally more comfortable in their body and more energetic as a result of osteopathic treatment.

2) In our modern lives there are certain physical stressors such as repeated activities, both manual and static which, over time result in our bodies getting over tired, poorly supplied with energy (food) and unable to remove their waste products. It is this state that either causes pain sensors to trigger directly or predisposes us to injury. Osteopathy works to mobilise the joints and muscles, improve the circulation around the area of pain and help promote healthy movement to prevent reoccurrence.

Stress is also a major factor in  painful conditions. For some, stress is the trigger for skin inflammation such as eczema, for others it causes headaches, for others it may be IBS or indigestion. When we are stressed, we adopt poor postures, grind our teeth or maybe we just can’t sleep due to excess adrenaline and an inability to switch our minds off. All of these situations will reduce the amount of energy you have to hold your body up all day and predisposes you to experiencing pain in one or more areas. Where we cannot promise to improve problems in your skin and organ systems, it is possible that if we help to remove the mechanical pain you are experiencing, your body will have more energy to be resilient against stressors.

 

About Osteopathy

Osteopathy is a natural and safe form of musculoskeletal manual therapy for patient’s of all ages. It is an established and recognised system of primary healthcare which diagnoses, treats and rehabilitates a wide range of musculoskeletal problems.

We are medically trained musculoskeletal specialists who have undergone 4 years of training to degree level. Some medical pathologies present as musculoskeletal complaints, as primary healthcare practitioners, it is our responsibility to take a thorough case history and perform a detailed physical examination, in order to identify when a condition is not musculoskeletal in origin. In these circumstances, you may not be treated but referred back to your GP (with your consent) or referred to hospital.

Whether it is your back that is sore, or your little toe, the mechanism of muscle tightness and inflammation is the same. Osteopaths believe that the body has its own capacity for healing which can be encouraged by manual treatment.

Osteopathic manual techniques include; massage, joint articulation and joint manipulation. At Nimble we also use Dry Needling (Western Acupuncture) when appropriate.

Our bodies can often overreact to an injury by inducing a muscle spasm or promoting an inflammatory response. Sometimes we might even prevent our body from doing what it needs to do by holding ourselves stiffly, for fear of doing further damage. By releasing mechanical barriers to healing and by encouraging circulation around an injury, treatment and management advice can help to restore your body to its normal functioning quicker.

Essentially, osteopathic treatment helps to improve your posture and joint movement by releasing tension in the muscles that are holding them stiff.

Tension around joints or in muscles causes reciprocal compression and restriction on your internal organs e.g. tight ribs might restrict our capacity to take a deep breath and vice versa, if you have a restrictive lung condition like Asthma, you may not be fully expanding your ribs, resulting in joint tension. Most clients report that they feel generally more comfortable in their body and more energetic as a result of osteopathic treatment.

As each person is different, each treatment is individual and will be tailored to what you or body needs and may well differ between treatments as you recover.

Modern examples of how pain can develop:

In our modern lives there are certain physical stressors such as repeated activities, both manual and static which, over time result in our bodies getting over tired, poorly supplied with energy (food) and unable to remove their waste products. It is this state that either causes pain sensors to trigger directly or predisposes us to injury. Osteopathy works to mobilise the joints and muscles, improve the circulation around the area of pain and help promote healthy movement to prevent reoccurrence.

Stress is also a major factor in musculoskeletal pain. For some, stress is the trigger for skin inflammation such as eczema, for others it causes headaches for others it may be IBS or indigestion. When we are stressed, we adopt poor postures, grind our teeth or maybe we just can’t sleep due to excess adrenaline and an inability to switch our minds off. All of these situations will reduce the amount of energy you have to hold your body up all day and predisposes you to experiencing pain in one or more areas. Where we cannot promise to improve problems in your skin and organ systems, it is possible that if we help to remove the musculoskeletal pain you are experiencing, your body will have more energy to be resilient against stressors.