I’ve been treating young babies for a while now to help with a variety of symptoms, with really good results. Here’s a testimonial from Jacob’s mum, a 10 week old who had really severe reflux.

To develop my knowledge and skills further, I’ve recently completed the Foundation Course from the Rollin E Becker Institute, specialists in cranial osteopathy. It was an absolutely fantastic course, taught by really knowledgable tutors in an engaging and enlightening way.

Cranial osteopathy is an amazingly gentle treatment, focussed on the delicate and small yet massively important movement of the bones, membranes, ligaments and muscles around the head and sacrum (part of the pelvis). Restrictions in the movements of these tissues as a result of unusual positioning of the baby during pregnancy, long labour or assisted birth can contribute to feeding and sleep difficulties in the newborn which present themselves as a restless or unhappy baby. Gentle treatment using the cranial osteopathy approach can be really helpful with these symptoms.

If you’d like to know more about how cranial osteopathy could help your child, give me a call on 07990 548 519 and I’d be delighted to talk it through with you.

I was recently asked to comment on a news article in The Daily Mail about the impact that ill-fitting bras have on health. You can read the full article here: Is your bra making you ill?

On many occasions I have been able to link women’s back and neck complaints directly to badly-fitted bras that not only offer limited or no support but creating visible problems in posture, resulting in pain and tension.

Traditional bras are often too tight around the ribs, creating a pivot point in the middle of the back, dividing it into two smaller areas that can’t work as effectively. The lack of support at the front can also bring the upper back forward and to compensate for this, many women end up tilting their heads backwards.

All these slight but continuous maladjustments put unnecessary pressure on the diaphragm, which if you are sitting at a desk for hours each day, affect the breathing mechanism and can also be a direct link to digestion problems and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Overly tight straps not only cause skin irritations but reduce blood flow, affecting the nerves and contribute to tension headaches.

If you’re concerned that this might be an issue, give me a call and we can discuss it further. In the meantime, getting measured up by a reputable store such as Bravissimo or John Lewis could have a massive impact on your comfort, posture and, ultimately, health.

I’ve found myself talking about fascia a LOT recently and increasingly I’m thinking of its importance when looking at both new injuries and long term postural changes – for example the dreaded “laptop posture” that I tell people off about!! So I thought I’d put some of my ideas down on paper..

Basically, fascia is a clingfilm-like substance that is wrapped around every muscle fibre, every muscle, each organ and underneath the skin. It’s designed to slide and move as we move but if it’s held in the same position for a long time it can begin to stick together. This ‘sticking’ can restrict movement, and along with shortened, tight muscles can exacerbate poor posture and increase your changes of suffering with long term pain and stiffness.

Here’s an absolutely fantastic video illustrating what fascia is and how it turns into ‘fuzz’. Be warned, this video does use real dissections to illustrate certain points. Don’t worry its not too gruesome, but if you’re sensitive maybe give the video part a miss and just listen to the voiceover:

So how can we stop becoming ‘fuzzed’ up:

• Move! Avoid sitting for long periods or holding the same position for hours on end. Get up, have regular breaks and keep moving.
• Exercise! Yep, you’ve heard this one before 🙂 But, it’s a great excuse for getting out there and using your body for what it’s meant to do. Find a sport or exercise that you enjoy or just go out for a walk – your body will thank you.
• Treatment! As the video says, regular physical treatment whether massage or osteopathy can help to restore movement and keep the muscles and fascia moving. Prevention is better than cure!

So, I hope that this is interesting for you. If you’d like to know more, please get in touch and I’d be happy to talk it all through with you. There’s a fantastic book called ‘Anatomy Trains‘ which goes into a lot of detail too. It really is fascianating stuff 😉

I’ve decided to open on Saturday mornings for both osteopathy and sports massage appointments over the next few weeks to see if it’s something that people would like to see on a more regular basis. The initial dates are:

• Saturday 30th March (Easter weekend)
• Saturday 20th April

Location: Bay Therapy Centre, 21 Trent Boulevard, West Bridgford NG2 5BB
Time: 9am to 2pm

If you’d like to book in, give me a call on 07990 548510, drop me an email or use the online booking system.

See you there!

Sometimes, it’s difficult to successfully convey a message when it comes to health advice. Have a look at this very well made, tongue-in-cheek video from an American breast cancer charity, explaining the importance of self-examination. Very clever!

As you will no doubt have seen and felt, the weather has taken a turn over the past few days with snow, ice and freezing temperatures in most parts of the country. This is a time when we see a lot of back pain and injuries so it pays to be mindful of your body as the cold weather hits.

One thing that I always recommend people to do is to wear gloves – but what’s that got to do with your back, I hear you ask!?

It sounds silly, but wearing gloves rather than having your hands in your pockets can make a big difference to your back. On a basic level, having your hands and arms free to help your balance on icy pavements cannot be overstated. This could help prevent or lessen a serious fall. However, gloves can also help HOW you walk.

Think about your normal walking stride, imagine how your legs swing through as you move along, carrying your weight forward propelling you along. Now, see what happens when you put your hands in your pockets… your stride shortens, you take smaller steps. This has an effect on your lower back and pelvis and restricts their natural rocking movement as you walk.

Add to that some ice. Icy pavements mean that you’re walking along, looking downwards, watching your step to make sure you don’t slip. You’re now slightly bent forwards in the lower back, between your shoulder blades and with your neck.

Imagine all these things happening together – not quite the normal walking pattern that you’d imagine! This can lead to lower back pain, an ache between your shoulder blades, around your neck or deep into your buttocks. Having osteopathic treatment can obviously help with the pain but, really, you want to avoid it in the first place.

So some advice:

• Wear gloves! Don’t walk with your hands in your pockets!
• Where possible, try to walk with as natural a stride pattern as possible
• Avoid looking down as you walk – plan a few steps ahead
• If another route or pavement is less icy, walk over there, even if it is a bit out of your way

Of course, if you do find yourself with lower back, mid back or neck pain, just give me a call 🙂 I’m always happy to help!

Happy New Year!
A new year brings new opportunities as I’ve now started treating at the Bay Therapy Centre in West Bridgford.

It’s a great location, a short walk from West Bridgford and very close to both Lady Bay bridge and Trent Bridge. The clinic is supplied by regular buses from both West Bridgford and Nottingham City Centre and is very easy to reach by car. Plus there’s loads of FREE PARKING on the roads around the venue unlike the old city centre spot.

I look forward to continuing to offer my osteopathy and sports massage treatments there and hope to see you there soon!

Spacious and comfortable treatment room

The waiting area

There's even a kitchen that you can use!

I will be open as normal until Thursday 20th December but then will have reduced hours over the xmas break, as follows:

Xmas Eve (Monday) = 10am – 2pm, Castle Clinic, Ruddington
28th Dec (Friday) = 10am – 2pm, Church St Practice, Melton Mowbray

And then back to normal from Thursday 3rd January 2013 onwards. This will also be my first day at the new clinic in West Bridgford, The Bay Therapy Centre, 21 Trent Boulevard, Lady Bay NG2 5BB.

I’m very proud to say that I had an article published in the well-regarded journal SportEX Dynamics looking at the evidence for the use of kinesio tape in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries.

The paper looked at 10 existing trials where the tape was used in the treatment of low back pain, shoulder impingement, whiplash, plantar fasciitis and patello-femoral (knee) pain and assessed whether the tape had any proven positive effects when compared to placebo or alternative treatments.

The study concluded that each of these trails showed some positive effects of KT on soft tissue flexibility, fascia thickness, pain and/or disability. In particular KT appears to offer similar results to traditional treatments such as soft tissue massage, ultrasound, TENS or home exercise but achieves results faster and with fewer applications, although ultimately final outcomes are often the same.

If you’d like to download the full text, you can do so here: what is the evidence for kinesio tape (2.3mb PDF)

Last weekend we held our first full-day kinesio taping course at the Midlands School of Massage and Manipulative Therapy in Ruddington, Nottingham. As part of the Sports Massage Diploma, the students were introduced to the concept of kinesio taping and learnt some effective techniques for common conditions including lower back pain, achilles tendinopathy, cervicogenic headaches and acute muscle spasm. We also looked at how the tape could be used to influence full-body movement by taping along fascial and functional body lines.

We also looked at the evidence for the effectiveness of kinesio tape as featured in my SportEx article, published in October: What is the evidence for kinesio tape?

The students were fantastic and really picked up the principles and techniques very quickly. We had some great feedback too:

Really enjoyed the course both Informative & practical. Well delivered and thought out. I will be using it in my clinic. Tom L

Obviously learnt from the best 🙂 Sam D