Osteopathy is not just for backs!!

We are often seen as “back people” and it is not rare that during our consultation some patient ask: "Do you do knees?” Although when feeling cheeky we might say:

• No sorry that was a week I was off unwell during my training!
• Actually we do not treat below the waist!
• Or even Yes but only the right ones!

As a matter of fact we do treat knees and ankle, hips, shoulder etc...

Osteopathy normally means the pain of bones. It really means that we treat the musculo-skeletal system. It is made up of the bones, joints and their support (ligaments, capsule, bursae,) and the whole muscular support of balance and motion.

We are in a way the human mechanics. Maintenance Osteopathic Treatment = MOT. Even though you have a bad back or a bad knee we will assess your whole body to see

• How you body compensate?
• Where it originated?
• If there was predisposing factors (normal for you or previous injuries not yet causing pain)
• What tissues are involved?

This allows us to predict you recovery, plan an action of rehabilitation if necessary, what technique to use and if referral to someone else is necessary.

So during your treatment we will perform an assessment of your quantity and quality of movement both in joints and muscle (ligaments and tendon) around the area of pain, to search for the site of origin of that pain (no always the same area!), your posture, your medical history and all sort of question which are relevant to your case.

Of course a marathon runner doesn’t need the same mechanic as new mum after caesarean section, or a hockey player, a retired bus driver or a roofer. But we all hate to wake up feeling 100 year old, unable to do our shoe laces, run down the stairs, lift our children, and do the one thing we like the most.... (Whatever that is!).

Don’t worry if it’s not broken we won’t try to fix it!

In fact, we try to keep you, pain free and flexible (younger) for longer.

I must last add something one tutor during my training wrote in big:

All patients who forget to mention something which is relevant and all practitioners who forget to ask for that both run the risk of the wrong diagnosis and the wrong treatment.

Christophe Becquereau

(B.Sc Hons – Registered Osteopath – Principal at the Maple Tree Clinic)