0208 9776396
Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy
Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy
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.
Structural & Cranial Osteopaths for the Whole Family
Holidays have finally begun!
It is a fantastic time of year and a marvellous opportunity to be with family enjoying the summer and being away from routine.
This month the question we want to ask is: Did Osteopathy help you?
We all read online reviews and this can really help raise public awareness of what Osteopathy can achieve.
Whilst you chill out on your sun lounger, with your tablet to hand, we are kindly asking for a quick feedback on the practice and your experience of Osteopathy. Thank you so much in advance
Kind regards,
Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy has always welcomed feedback from our patients. How can we know if we are providing great Osteopathic care unless we get feedback?!
Over the years, this feedback has enabled us to steer the growth of our Osteopathic clinical skills within the practice in order to provide different specialist treatments.
We value your feedback…. so please, can we have 5 minutes of your time?
Tablet computer in the stand on table over grunge wall
Social Media is a key way to give feedback. These reviews can also benefit others…. It can really help people decide on which practice is right for them. Anyone who is nervous or unsure about Osteopathy will often find that reviews help the decision making process of what treatment would help and where to go.
It is also a great way to highlight the diversity of Osteopathy and how it may help someone who has not considered this avenue of treatment before.
If you have a gmail or google account then it is really easy. Find us on Google and give us a review…. here is a link:
If you prefer to review on Facebook just search for Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy and give us a review.
Alternatively, if you wish to keep away from Social Media then just email us direct at: carragh@osteopathuk.co.uk and with your permission we can add your feedback to our website.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday August! Thank you for giving us a moment of your time and helping to raise awareness of how Osteopathy can be beneficial.
For Further Information on Osteopathy and how it may help, please call our Osteopaths today. 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.
Osteopathy a Way to Better Health
There are so many factors to ‘being healthy’ that sometimes it can feel overwhelming trying to achieve and maintain great health. This newsletter explores the importance of ‘health’ in its many aspects and we will try to encourage you to follow some guidelines to make this easier.
Kind regards,
So simple, but so true. Without our health and without our loved ones being healthy around us, we are going to struggle. Life never comes into such perspective as when serious illness affects us or our family and friends.
Valuing each second and living life with daily mindfulness is Key to Happiness.
It can be daunting to be ‘healthy’ all the time but if we break it down into individual areas it can make it easier to focus and just a few small changes may improve your life, health and happiness.
Sleep – do you go to bed early enough? Most of us in the UK only average 7 hours of sleep. If you sleep less than this, then you are probably not having enough.
Diet – balance is the key. Reduce refined sugar where possible. Eat regularly to maintain an even blood sugar and keep your body in balance.
Activity – if you have a sedentary job then find ways to be active. Climb stairs, don’t take the lift. If you are not someone who exercises and hates the gym then brisk walking is incredibly good for you. Apps that count your steps can be a great way to give yourself that incentive to be more active.
Relationships – friendship and social interaction is incredibly important for human health. We need the mental stimulus of being part of a social group
We regularly see patients who may themselves be undergoing treatment for serious illness or those patients that are caring for loved ones. In both scenarios it can be exhausting dealing with the issues that chronic illness brings to any family dynamic. In situations like these the mind-body link is very obvious to us as Osteopaths and we will pinpoint the areas that stress and strain are causing muscular and postural tensions. The role of Osteopathy will aim to help achieve better function and give the body the ability to relax on a musculoskeletal level.
If this newsletter has inspired you in some way, please take time to think of friends or family that may be experiencing illness. For many, charitable events can be a wonderful way to say thank you for the caring people that we encounter during these difficult times.
Indeed, our Osteopath Katie has recently experienced the tragic loss of her mother to cancer. She says that the hospice that cared for her mother also went out of their way to care for the family too. With this in mind, Katie is doing Ride London on Sunday 4th August and is raising money for this wonderful hospice, The Hospice of St Francis.
Her Just Giving Page is: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Katie-Clare8
We all send our deepest condolences to Katie and her family.
For Further Information on Osteopathy and how it may help, please call our Osteopaths today. 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.
Osteopathy for Headaches
Some people are lucky never to get headaches but for many of us they can be a recurring problem. I have personally suffered headaches since I was a little girl and these ‘tension’ headaches have led into migraines in later life. I find regular Osteopathic treatment helps relieve the neck tension that results from the headaches and the vicious cycle of tension-headache-tension that then ensues.
Kind regards,
Tension headaches are the most common type of headaches but the cause of them isn’t well understood. As Osteopaths we often observe the cycle of neck/postural tension causing a headache which then in turn causes more tension, which leads to further headaches…
This can be very debilitating to patients, impacting on their lives and causing a lot of distress.
Tension headaches can be a diffuse pain anywhere from the back and top of the head or radiating from the forehead to the sides of the head. They can be infrequent or continuous ranging from 15 minutes to 15 days or more in duration. Unlike migraines, tension headaches aren’t associated with visual disturbances or vomiting but activity may make them worse and there may be sensitivity to light.
In some migraine sufferers, a tension headache may be the trigger that brings on a migraine.
Osteopathy on its own can be beneficial to help ease tension headaches but your Osteopath will also discuss lifestyle factors which may help. As everyone is an individual and tension headaches are always unique to that person, they will discuss all the many factors that may contribute. For example, diet, climate, environmental factors, stress management.
Musculoskeletally, your Osteopath will do their best to improve the function of the spine and muscles to help maximise movement and reduce stress on the neck muscles. In turn, post-headache, they will alleviate the tension in the neck and shoulders caused by the headache itself. Various techniques will be used and each patient will respond uniquely to different treatments to alleviate the headache. Therefore, your Osteopath may need a couple of treatments to work out which ‘pattern’ of treatment is best for you.
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.
Anyone For Tennis?
With Summer around the corner many of us return to outdoor sports, especially tennis. It is a fantastic sport, encouraging fitness and social interaction.
We want all our patients to enjoy life, exercise and well-being so enjoy this newsletter as it may help you to avoid injury and stay well.
Kind regards,
Tennis can be high impact with bursts of speed & swift direction changes potentially leading to injury.
Tennis Elbow – obviously, we had to mention this one first! Ironically, in our Osteopathic practice we see tennis elbow mostly related to repetitive strain injuries of computer work or lifting. However, if your grip on your tennis racket is small and you grip very tightly, tennis elbow is a possibility!
Sprained Ankle – amateurs and professionals alike can easily twist an ankle whilst rapidly zooming around the court. Watch out especially if the court is slippery or if you are getting tired.
Shoulder Injury – this is fairly obvious and is often caused by overstrain of the rotator cuff shoulder muscles. Warming up is key and building stamina to last that extra set is vital.
Achilles Tendon Injury – quick acceleration can cause the calf muscles to contract strongly and there is a chance of overstrain or even rupture to the achilles tendon. Try warming up your muscles with deep heat and after tennis apply magnesium oil to help muscle function.
Back Injury – watch the professionals at Wimbledon this summer and you will see the immense strength and strain caused when serving. Extending the spine and using it to power the serve can easily lock up facet joints in the spine and overstrain the spinal muscles.
At Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy we can help advise and treat your tennis related injury.
All our Osteopaths have done further training in Kinesio-Taping. You may have seen professional tennis players with their pink and blue taping… it is a great way to help you continue to play tennis and avoid further injury.
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.
Pregnancy and giving birth is the most astounding, fantastic and amazing part of life’s rich cycle. As an Osteopath, having specialised in helping pre and postnatal mothers for the last 20 years, I am still in awe of this wonderful process of giving life to the next generation.
With this in mind, this newsletter is going to focus not on the baby, but on the mother and what their body will go through during this time. Osteopathy can be hugely beneficial in helping mums cope with the physical changes to their own body, both during and after pregnancy.
Kind regards,
The rapid changes in the body that occur during pregnancy can lead to musculoskeletal complications in the lower back, back, wrist and neck areas. In the vast majority of cases this is directly related to pregnancy only and not present before or after.
The hormonal, vascular and physiological changes in pregnancy increase the risk of musculoskeletal aches and pains.
Commonly, low back pain, hip and pelvis pain and upper back pain occur throughout the pregnancy but often manifest most in the third trimester.
Osteopathically, we may treat pregnant mums experiencing musculoskeletal-skeletal neck and upper back problems in the first trimester. This can be related to morning sickness and early changes to posture.
At about 20 – 24 weeks gestation we often see the beginnings of lower back, pelvis and mid back pain. This is when the baby gains weight rapidly and marked changes of posture occur in a very short space of time.
In the third trimester low back and pelvis pain is common and occasionally can be very acute. Osteopathic treatment is quite safe during this time.
At Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy all our osteopaths are giving in-house training on how to safely treat pregnant mothers and we have adapted techniques to be as gentle as possible yet achieve a positive outcome.
Post-birth time is all about getting to know this gorgeous little person that has entered your life and it is common for mothers to put themselves last in terms of getting help for any aches and pains.
At Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy our Osteopaths can see mothers very soon after the birth and treatment is adapted so that it is safe. If possible, it is ideal to come along straight away if you are experiencing any back, pelvis or neck pain.
For Further Information there is more literature at: https://pelvicpartnership.org.uk/
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.
In this month’s edition we delve into the very common condition called sciatica. The statistics point to around 40% of the UK having experienced some form of sciatica but the likelihood is that this number is greater with many sufferers not seeking help and treatment.
Kind regards,
What is sciatica? Typically, it is pain, numbness or pins and needles in the distribution of the sciatic nerve usually affecting one side of the lower back/leg. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body travelling from your lower back right down to the foot. Pain can range from a dull ache with tingling right up to excruciating nerve pain.
This can mean some or all the following areas might be affected:
• Lower Back
• Buttock Muscle
• Outer Hip
• Back of the Thigh
• Outer back of the Calf
• Sole of the Foot
Sciatica can potentially be very debilitating or episodic with minor symptoms. The most important thing is to quickly determine the cause of the sciatica. This is where your Osteopath with their diagnostic skills can really help.
Your Osteopath will assess you standing, sitting and lying down and may do various tests to help differentially diagnose the source of the pain. The outcome of this will affect the future treatment plan and outlook for recovery.
Serious conditions causing sciatica might be narrowing of the spinal canal (stenosis) or spondylolisthesis (forward movement within the vertebral column itself). These are rare to find but if your Osteopath feels there may be a chance of this then they may refer you for an MRI scan. This may not actually change the treatment plan they decide on, but it will alter the advice given on how to manage the problem. Should you ever have sciatica in both legs, with any changes to your bladder or bowel function then you should go directly to A&E as this is not sciatica but potentially a condition called Cauda Equina Syndrome.
However, for most of the population, common causes of sciatica are back muscle spasm, joint inflammation, lumbar disc problems and/or degenerative changes within the spine.
As Osteopaths, we treat this problem frequently and so will be able to tailor the treatment to your body after ascertaining the cause of the sciatica.
With sciatica your Osteopath will physically treat the problem, but rehabilitation is also very key to aid recovery and prevention. At Kingston & Teddington Osteopathy we always give exercises that may be of help and can advise if there needs to be medication or referral for an MRI scan.
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.