0208 9776396
Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy
Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy
Keeping well, both mentally and physically is proving a challenge to us as a nation in week 9 of Lockdown.
If you are getting achey and creaky and have missed your appointment since Lockdown, please do get in touch 02089776396 or email carragh@osteopathuk.co.uk and we can book you in for a Video Consultation.
We have had success with Video Consultations and have been wonderfully surprised at how much they can help. With video we can do a full assessment as if you are standing with us in the clinic and then there are many treatment options. If you would like further information on how they work, just call us and we can explain the process. Please know that we are here for you to help keep you well and healthy.
We are also planning ahead for re-opening but already we realise that this will come with its own challenges and limitations. Even getting PPE has been an exhaustive process and orders take weeks to materialise. We understand that you might want to wait for hands-on treatment but please don’t if you are currently struggling.
Via Video Consultations we are seeing more neck and back issues from patients who are working from home. By seeing you in your home environment we are also able to help you adjust your workspace and give relevant advice on how to manage your problem.
The YouTube channel is also continuing to be a great tool for self-help. My favourite one to date and especially relevant for everyone working hard in the garden or doing odd jobs is:
We are thinking of you all and hope you are keeping safe and well. Just remember, we are all still here for you and if you need us, just call.
Kind regards,
Please do keep in touch with us on Facebook and find us at https://www.facebook.com/KTOsteopathy/
There you will find stretches which will be helpful during this time.
In the meantime, here are a couple of de-stress videos….
Please remember that Carragh, Mark, Katie, Leah and Rosie are all available for telephone consultations. If you have any queries or worries, do not hesitate to get in touch via email at carragh@osteopathuk.co.uk and one of us will call you.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
Nearly a month after closing the clinic doors to hands-on Osteopathy, there has been time to reflect and work out how to move the practice forwards.
Online video consultations have proved to be very successful. We usually need a second family member to be present as ‘camera holder’ and supervised easy-to-do techniques have been really helpful at getting patients feeling better.
As a team, we are all available for telephone consultations, or even just a chat, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email to carragh@osteopathuk.co.uk and we will contact you the same day.
In the meantime, our reality as a society is that life has changed rather dramatically. In order to keep well, both mentally and physically, it is vital to keep to routine and stretch/exercise.
Our bodies work on a circadian rhythm which is a natural, internal process that regulates our sleep/wake cycle. To keep to a good rhythm, make sure you get up each morning nice and early. Get showered and dressed as if you are facing a normal working day. Plan ahead, things to do, what to eat and give yourself daily goals. All this helps the body self-manage and will also keep stress levels down.
By keeping to routine, be it a new lockdown one, you will help your body manage its brain wave activity, hormone balance and cellular regeneration – all vital for good health.
Our YouTube channel is coming along nicely. There are lots of top tips and stretches for different areas of the body. At present, we have also included quite a few on stress and tension with exercises to control breathing and encourage good posture. Have a look and please subscribe!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaSfyAZTc5JtqidbXNXg8Pw
Personally, my favourite stretches & exercises to date are:
A great stretch for your posture and mid-back.. ideal if you are sitting down more or working from home:
https://youtu.be/W8ivLxI6sC8
For people with lower back pain and hamstring tension, this one is ideal if you aren’t going out as much and is great for the current lockdown:
https://youtu.be/JtXcl-RLL8w
Finally, if you need us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We will all do our very best to help you. For now, stay home, stay safe and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Kind regards,
Please do keep in touch with us on Facebook and find us at https://www.facebook.com/KTOsteopathy/
There you will find stretches which will be helpful during this time.
In the meantime, here are a couple of de-stress videos….
Please remember that Carragh, Mark, Katie, Leah and Rosie are all available for telephone consultations. If you have any queries or worries, do not hesitate to get in touch via email at carragh@osteopathuk.co.uk and one of us will call you.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for their very kind words and emails following the decision to temporarily pause hands-on treatment at Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy.
We understand that this is a stressful time for everyone. Numerous conversations this week highlighted that stress & society’s enforced lifestyle change are contributing to physical tension. Symptoms include neck and shoulder tension and headaches and some of our patients are reporting anxiety and tightness in the chest.
In order to provide some help I have now embarked on my new career as a movie maker and have started to create YouTube stretches for you all! So enjoy!
Kind regards,
Please do keep in touch with us on Facebook and find us at https://www.facebook.com/KTOsteopathy/
There you will find stretches which will be helpful during this time.
In the meantime, here are a couple of de-stress videos….
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
What a difference a day makes! As the Science advises greater social changes in the battle to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic, we have kept up with advice and added different protocols each day to ensure our clinical practice stays within government guidelines.
On Thursday 19th March these guidelines changed again. Social Distancing is increasingly paramount, especially for our at risk, vulnerable, immuno-compromised and elderly patients.
We all have vulnerable people close to us, in our households or within our very close family and friend units. This is a factor that affects every single person within this country, and indeed, the world.
We have taken the decision, not lightly, to close the clinic on Friday 20th March 2020 for two weeks.
However, myself, Mark, Katie, Leah and Rosie are all still your dedicated Osteopaths. We are not away or on holiday… we are there on the other end of the phone 02089776396 and email carragh@osteopathuk.co.uk
There is a lot behind the scenes for us to do, so please be patient if we don’t respond immediately. We will do our best to reply within a few hours at most.
Please keep reading my newsletters for regular updates. If you have any problems, requests or just want to chat then email us at carragh@osteopathuk.co.uk and one of us will be in contact.
As your Osteopaths we will all very much miss seeing you face-to-face but with social media there is no longer a lack of contact. We have to look after each other and care for each other.
Finally, don’t be scared. The Science has been modelling pandemics in anticipation of this for years. We are in the unknown but we have to follow the advice given as so much research has gone into this already by some amazingly bright and clever people.
Keep well my friends and we all look forward to seeing you and treating you very soon.
Kind regards,
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
We would like to take this opportunity to reassure our patients that we are doing our very best to keep up to date with information on COVID-19 and the advice that NHS and Public Health England are providing to healthcare providers such as ourselves.
Our duty of care is to you, our patients, and with this in mind we Kindly ask that you read our guidelines below.
Kind regards,
Our first request is, if you are unwell and have a raised temperature, please cancel your appointment.
To cancel, please call the clinic landline 02089776396 and reschedule your appointment.
This may be normal cold and flu-like symptoms (not coronavirus) but please, for the sake of our patients who may be of higher risk to catching infections, do not reschedule until a minimum of 24 hours after the temperature has returned to normal
For patients who have travelled recently, please read NHS guidelines and only attend if you are safe to do so.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/advice-for-travellers/
For all other patients, we ask you to stay up to date with NHS advice.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
If you have any doubts at all as to whether you may have come in contact with someone with coronavirus, please cancel your appointment and call NHS 111.
Remember, coronavirus COVID-19 infection usually occurs through close contact with a person with coronavirus via a cough, sneeze or hand contact. A person can also be infected by touching contaminated surfaces if they do not wash their hands.
At the clinic we are committed to keeping it clean and are wiping surfaces, door handles etc regularly. We have provided alcohol based anti-bacterial gel and we invite you to use this whilst in the waiting area.
Please have a look at the NHS link below.
https://mcusercontent.com/df1c802f79a259f495b32f8cf/images/2cef8961-dab0-4649-b6b7-8686205726dc.jpg
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
Are you running the London Marathon this year? If so, you’re probably just finished your first month of the 16 week training plan. Only 12 to go!
We wish you good luck with your training and here are some top tips to help prevent injury in the lead up to 26th April.
Kind regards,
There are so many websites out there that will have a training plan that will cater to your level of fitness. Find the right one for you.
As Osteopaths, we tend to see patients during the latter part of their training when the mileage is really beginning to ramp up. Impact problems and repetitive strains are best addressed as soon as they occur.
Ideally, we would like to see you earlier in the training schedule before the shin splints, knee, hip, ankle or foot problems begin.
We would like to help you by supporting your musculoskeletal structure during training so please do contact us if you want further information. We will provide treatment, stretch advice and a pro-active approach to your training.
Seemingly obvious, but it can be very hard to find the right trainers. We recommend getting professional advice and when trying them on do some walking and running on a treadmill. There are various shops locally that are really helpful.
Try on a mixture of different brands, some will not be right for you if you have a history of low back disc problems or if you have a high instep.
Your Osteopath will be able to recommend some brands that might be more appropriate for you personally once they have assessed you.
When running frequently, it is common to get muscle aches and the odd joint pain. There is a big difference from the ache of a good workout and the pain of an injury.
You need to learn to listen to your body. Some days the training will be easy and some days it will be hard. Should the pain ever become sharp, frequent or hurt with each step, then stop. Take a breather for 5 minutes, do some stretches and then re-start your run. If it is still hurting, then stop and get treatment. Too often we see patients who have injured themselves during a run and then have continued for miles afterward. This can damage the tissues further and may affect recovery time.
Ultimately, you need to gauge your level of discomfort. With time, you will learn what is safe to push through in order to achieve the race finish line.
Being slow just means setting a pace that is comfortable. Running at a comfortable pace allows for good oxygen uptake and means you use your muscles fibres aerobically. This in turn means that you are less likely to get injured.
Slower running makes it easier for your tendons, ligaments and joints to adapt – again reducing the risk of injury.
For Further Information please call our Osteopaths today and we can help you stay fit and full of well-being. 02089776396
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
I love January…… it is a great month full of potential and possibilities.
We’ve had the shortest day, Spring is around the corner and there is an overall sense of life moving forwards and anything is achievable!
It is a wonderful month for self-reflection and self-care.
We would like to encourage you all to take this month to nurture yourselves.
Kind regards,
January can be a fad month. The important thing when self-nurturing is to really reflect on what you want to change and how to do this in the smallest, most manageable way.
What do you feel you want to change? Do you have chronic back pain and want to manage it more pro-actively? Do you want to have more time for ‘Me’?
Seek advice and help where appropriate. As Osteopaths caring for musculoskeletal problems, we are often helping patients analyse their work, social and home lives to find small solutions to their aches and pains. It may be something as simple as buying a tablet stand to improve posture or going for a walk on a lunch break.
We all have our needs in order to develop. Babies, children and adults all need good sleep, good food and good social interaction.
Never forget to look after yourself as well as those around you.
Plan your life…. routine is not a negative and doesn’t need to be repetitive and boring. It can be the building blocks for health and well being.
In the same way that we care for our kids and pets, we can put vital self-nurturing regularly into the diary. We have patients that regularly book their Osteopathy appointment, regardless of whether they are in pain. We can then address any issues when they come in for an appointment and prevent problems escalating.
Think of what would make you feel cared for and give you a boost of well-being…. and then book it regularly.
For Further Information please call our Osteopaths today and we can help you stay fit and full of well-being. 02089776396
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
Do you suffer from neck pain? We are going to use this newsletter to explore what is a ‘cricked’ neck.
As Osteopaths, we see neck pain on a daily basis so if you have any concerns or pain, do not hesitate to get in touch.
We will be able to assess and differentially diagnose the cause of the pain. Osteopathy can help ease the muscle tension and help articulate the joints to improve movement. Each case is individually assessed and a treatment plan formulated based on your case history and pain pattern.
Kind regards,
A crick in the neck is not to be confused with regular, chronic neck pain.
It is usually acute and is a stiffness in moving the neck. Occasionally, it can be very painful and the person suffering may hold their head tilted to one side.
It is not a predictable, regular pain. It may even come on overnight with the person waking up and being unable to turn their head.
It is usually preceded by exercise or movement that creates muscle tension… such as doing a new type of exercise the day before or by lying in bed at an awkward angle.
It is pain in the neck, upper back and possibly across the shoulders but there is no pain radiating into the arms.
First rule of thumb is take some pain medication… paracetamol and, if you are medically allowed, ibuprofen. This will enable you to begin to move the head a little bit more.
Keep your neck warm! A crick in the neck is also muscle spasm and muscles love heat, so wear a scarf and don’t let the neck get cold.
Hydrotherapy, using a nice hot shower to ‘massage’ the neck can be beneficial.
Book to see your Osteopath. This is important because your Osteopath will determine if you have a facet joint lock in the neck and associated trapped nerve. With Osteopathic treatment this can be released and advice given to help you recover more quickly.
It will vary according to which level of the neck is stiff. Some cricked necks cause complete immobilisation, others just make it difficult to turning your head.
Stretching and regular massage can be really beneficial for the neck. Your Osteopath will advise on the best stretches for you.
Keep your neck warm. Don’t sleep in a draught and avoid air conditioning units directly sending cold air onto you.
Have good pillows. There is no right or wrong pillow, it is all down the individual length of neck, breadth of shoulder and preferred sleeping position. However, you are more likely to have neck pain if you sleep on your tummy.
Generally, having a firm base pillow is good. Try a latex pillow or hollow fibre pillow. If you love feathers, then have them as a soft top pillow.
For Further Information please call our Osteopaths today and we can help you stay fit and healthy over the Summer. 02089776396
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
Structural & Cranial Osteopaths for the Whole Family
October is a wonderful month. Autumnal colours in Bushy Park, the stags bellowing at each other and crisp clear days are just a few of the benefits of living in this area.
Halloween at the end of the month marks the beginning of winter so this newsletter has ideas on ways to look after yourself at this time of year.
Kind regards,
It is easy to become more sedentary in the winter months. Try and plan your life to include activity where possible. Take stairs and walk up/down escalators to keep fit. It you are retired then consider getting a static bicycle for the spare bedroom so that you can exercise on rainy days.
Stretching daily can be a great way to warm up muscles and provide joints, muscles and nerves with stimulus for improved function.
Consider going to classes for stretching. Gentle yoga, beginners pilates, tai chi and meditation can all benefit breathing, muscle function and overall well-being.
If you have a history of injury, always ask your Osteopath what would benefit you most.
We have contact with a local specialist in rehabilitation pilates for those of you who have been struggling with injury. Please ask for more information when you are next in for your appointment.
Winter aches and pains are very common. Our posture changes in colder weather and muscles are slower to warm up. We also do not absorb Vitamin D in the winter months in the UK as the sun is too far away.
The magic triumvirate for Muscle and Nerve function is Magnesium, Calcium and Vitamin D. In the winter months we recommend supplementing with Vitamin D capsules.
Magnesium can be found in whole wheat flour and grains, dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, avocado, banana, beans, nuts such as cashews and almonds and even in dark chocolate!
Calcium is found in diary foods, broccoli and cabbage, fortified bread, nuts and fish where you eat the bones such as pilchards and sardines.
So, plan a varied and healthy winter diet with Vitamin D supplementation and you should keep yourself in good shape for the colder months.
Finally, fun and happiness are the best cure-all known to man. We wish you all a very fun Halloween and do send us some pictures of the kids’ (and grown-ups’) costumes!
For Further Information please call our Osteopaths today and we can help you stay fit and healthy over the Summer. 02089776396
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
Structural & Cranial Osteopaths for the Whole Family
Healthy Ageing
Wrinkles – tick! Going grey – tick!
Age comes to us all…. fact. As we age our body experiences various changes and we may experience more aches and pains.
However, with good management we should be able to live active and enjoyable lives in our middle and latter years. This newsletter helps explore how to achieve this!
Kind regards,
You don’t have to put up with aches and pains simply because you are getting older. Muscles, joints and bones will change with age but managing your lifestyle can enable you to keep active and find enjoyment in life well into your 90s.
With the aches and pains of age people often find an Osteopath can complement their GP care and pharmaceutical products. As Osteopaths are trained to assess each patient as an individual they will look at your personalised needs and lifestyle choices and help you find a way to be active and find enjoyment in life.
Keep as active as possible! Simple, but in the winter months it can be very tempting to stay indoors and levels of activity can plummet.
Here are some tips on how to stay active, no matter what the weather is like:
At Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy we are more than happy to give advice on local exercise classes and individual bespoke exercises to help you maintain strength and activity levels.
For Further Information please call our Osteopaths today and we can help you stay fit and healthy. 02089776396
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for any reason, we are here to help and welcome any feedback. Click here for more information.
