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Conditions Treated
By finding the root of a problem this Practice aims to resolve a wide variety of muscular-skeletal conditions that may disrupt a person’s life and their ability to function well.
There may be numerous reasons and causes behind a sports injury. High impact injuries are often associated with top range sports and athletes. More common place are minor injuries or strains experienced by people who sport for leisure or personal fitness, whether from playing golf, over doing things in the gym or fitness class.
Many of these types of problems arise when the body is already out of alignment and thus causing certain areas of the body to become over stressed during exercise. Redhill & Reigate Osteopathy promotes exercise for its overriding health benefits and will always support people to continue with sporting activities wherever possible.
Osteopathy is also very effective in treating sports injuries. The aim of treatment here is firstly to re-align and re-balance the body thus dealing with the underlying cause, allowing the body to heal and to prevent further injury. Then much of the focus will be on resolving soft tissue strains using what are called myofascial (muscle and fascia) techniques.
These are generally quite painless techniques and are very effective in releasing these strains held within muscle, tendons, ligaments and fascia, even when other techniques, such as massage, have not done the trick.
Lower back pain is probably the most common complaint presented at this practice and responds well to osteopathic treatment. It can be particularly debilitating and wearing for the patient if left untreated and can be very restrictive to many day to day activities.
Lower back pain presentations may also vary from very acute episodes where the patient can hardly stand straight to more chronic conditions that may present as a persistent dull ache.
Treatment for lower back pain here is aimed not just to correct the problem areas of the lower back, but also correcting other areas of the spine that may be attributing to the complaint.
Before any treatment is given though the patient undergoes a thorough examination to ensure that a safe and effective approach to the treatment is given.
Cervico-genic headaches or tension headaches are common and also very treatable with osteopathy. They often are related neck and shoulder tension and further aggravated by stress. This is a common presentation and osteopathy is very effective in treating this complaint.
Treatment is aimed at alleviating the tension by firstly correcting any misalignment of the spine that may be affecting the neck and upper back area. Then the focus is releasing tension held within the muscle tissues of the neck and shoulder using gentle, but effective techniques.
Advice is also given on ways to prevent the problem returning.
Cranial Osteopathy is very effective in treating babies and children. It can help with issues that may be affecting digestion, sleep patterns and restlessness. Children who are suffering from frequent illnesses or feeling run down can also benefit from Cranial Osteopathy.
For further information you are welcome to contact the clinic.
Osteopathy and Cranial Osteopathy can be very effective in improving the function of the immune system. When the immune system is not working well, an individual can be left feeling run down and susceptible to any bug or virus that may be going around.
The body has very complex mechanisms that regulate the immune system and these can be disturbed by various stressors that we all have to deal with in our daily lives. Osteopathy and Cranial Osteopathy can help to rebalance these mechanisms and restore normal function of the immune system, giving a real boost to overall health.
Osteopathy can help with various digestive complaints that may bring discomfort to any individual. These can range from feeling bloated, loose stools, constipation, cramping, all of which may be described as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Often these conditions have multiple causes that are complicated to resolve, ranging from food intolerance, stress and biomechanical problems with the areas of the spine which innervate the digestive tracks.
Osteopathy can help with the latter which often improves the overall function of the digestive system. Improving the biomechanical areas of the spine can be enough to settle things down to make life more tolerable to any individual experiencing such discomfort.
Joints are connections between bones and there numerous reasons why pain may be felt here. These can range from injuries due to trauma, such as strains and sprains, micro-trauma as in RSI or due to arthritic changes. These may affect any part of the body, but are commonly felt in the knees, ankles, hip, shoulder and wrist.
Many of these conditions may be exacerbated by other biomechanical reasons, where misalignment of the pelvis or spine has contributed to a joint becoming over stressed.
Depending on the diagnoses of the joint pain, treatment here is aimed at re-aligning body to reduce any extra stress on the joint, alongside more localised work on the joint itself to ease any soft tissue damage or to improve mobility.
The human body is unique in that it has it can remain upright and mobile allowing us to perform multiple and complicated tasks. To do this effectively we rely on postural muscles to support us in this upright position.
However modern day lifestyles mean that we are spending less and less time standing upright and more and more time sitting. Whether this is for working on the PC, driving or other associated activities, long term this has a detrimental effect on our posture.
The spine tends to lose its natural integrity becoming compressed and restricted in certain areas and reducing its ability to function well. In addition muscles that are not used regularly will tend to lose their normal strength, and often these are the very muscles we need for good upright posture.
Treatment here is initially aimed at restoring good function of the spine and then to look at long term ways of improving overall posture. This will involve looking at general lifestyle issues and ways of improving strength of postural muscles.
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) are painful complaints of the elbow often associated with overuse of the forearm. They are basically a form of tendonitis.
Tennis elbow is where groups of muscles of the outer side of the forearm attach though a common tendon to the outer side of the elbow. Similarly, golfer’s elbow is where a group of muscles from the inside of the forearm attach through a common tendon to the inside of the elbow. Tightness of those muscle groups will stress their corresponding tendons creating painful and sensitive areas where the tendon attaches to the elbow.
Treatment here is aimed at releasing the tightness and strains within those groups of muscles in order to release the tension on the tendons. Gentle, but effective techniques are used to achieve this.
These are very common complaints presenting at this Practice. Neck and shoulder pain presentations often occur together, but equally may present as one or the other. They can be extremely uncomfortable, painful and even debilitating by restricting normal range of movement required for daily activities.
There can be numerous causes for neck and shoulder pain, but normally underlying these complaints are biomechanical issues that osteopathy is very effective in resolving.
Once a thorough examination is completed, treatment here is aimed at correcting these problem areas through realigning the spine to improve its mobility and function. Then any residual areas of pain, usually where muscles have strained leaving tender areas of soft tissue, are released often using very gentle techniques.
Self-help advice is also given to help the problem settle and avoid future episodes.
Muscle spasms are particularly painful events often caused by overuse or a sudden strain on a muscle or group of muscles. It is a persistent shortening of the muscle fibres that cannot be voluntarily released, in other words, uncontrollable muscle contractions or 'spasms'.
Abnormal neurological reflex cycles hold the muscle tissue in this over contracted state. This is a very debilitating and acute condition preventing normal movement and activity due to the excessive pain.
Initial treatment at Redhill & Reigate Osteopathy is aimed at getting these abnormal reflex cycles holding the muscle in spasm to 'switch off' allowing the affected muscles to calm down and to start settling to a normal state.
After a few days further treatment is usually needed to address the underlying issues that led to the crisis, often related to bio-mechanical misalignment somewhere in the pelvis or spine.
This is an inflammatory condition of the fascia in the sole of the foot, usually affecting the area underneath the heel. Planter fascia is a strong piece of connective tissue stretching from the heel to the mid foot and works like a shock absorber.
Planter fasciitis usually affects people who are on their feet a lot, walking, running or in their daily occupation. It was given its common name as it often affected policemen walking their beat. It is particularly painful on weight bearing. Conventional treatment tends to focus on rest, footwear and the use of heel pads.
Redhill & Reigate Osteopathy offers a more effective approach. Fascia is very strong connective tissue that is found throughout the body and connects groups of muscles that work together like a chain. Tension felt in one area, such as in planter fasciitis, is usually associated with tension elsewhere within that chain, higher in the leg and possibly the pelvis or lower back.
By firstly identifying these areas of tension, specific soft tissue techniques can then be accurately applied. These techniques are generally painless although very effective. When the tension within the whole chain of muscle and fascia has been released, the painful planter fasciitis very soon diminishes.
Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is usually associated those who spend long hours in front of a computer, but can also affect people who have to do repetitive manual work. It is a painful condition affecting the hands, wrists, forearms neck or shoulders, caused by repetitive movement, such as keyboarding and poor posture. Sitting for long periods at a PC will inevitably create bad posture if not checked by ergonomic work station assessment, regular breaks and exercise.
The upper back and base of the neck become compressed causing the muscle tissues in the region to become tight and immobile. This in turn starts to affect the chain of muscle and fascia that connect from upper back down to the arm, forearm and wrist resulting bands of tension and restriction. Eventually pain is felt where local soft tissues become over stressed.
Treatment at Redhill & Reigate Osteopathy involves correcting the deep seated postural issues and working through the muscle and fascia chains to release the strained tissues, diminishing the painful symptoms.
Sciatica is generally different from other back pain in that it radiates down through the buttock, back of the thigh and sometimes down to the calf, following the pathway of the sciatic nerve. It may affect one or both legs and the pain may be mild to severe lasting for several weeks. Numbness or tingling may also be experienced.
These symptoms, when the sciatic nerve is being compressed somewhere along its pathway, is often associated with the misalignment of the pelvis.
At Redhill & Reigate Osteopathy a patient presenting these symptoms is offered a detailed examination to rule out any serious conditions that could potentially cause the sciatica. Once these are ruled out, treatment is aimed at re-aligning the body where needed and to release any stressed area that may be compromising the sciatic nerve.
This kind of pain is usually felt in the shoulder and neck area, but may also present elsewhere in the body. Any individual undergoing long periods of stress or facing a stressful life event is particularly susceptible.
Osteopathy can be very helpful in dealing with these pain symptoms, reducing the tension held within the body and encouraging tight muscles to relax. This may help any individual to cope with the stress they happen to be dealing with.
