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Practitioner: Registered Osteopaths Judith Rumbold & Scott Tracey

Member of the General Osteopathic Council

Osteopathy started initially as an alternative to the medicine of the day (which was very hit and miss in the 1870's in America) treating all forms of illness including infections. With the advent of other effective treatments, particularly antibiotics for infections, and as osteopathy was especially successful in the treatment of physical ailments, its field became rather narrowed to the treatment of musculoskelatal problems. Now there is a revival of treatment of other ailments, due to the realisation of the value of cranial and visceral therapy and the scope of treatment is expanding.

Osteopathy is a therapy that places emphasis on the structural integrity of the body in order to produce optimum function, and therefore health. This principle can be applied to all tissues: Osteopathy is an holistic therapy which considers each person as an individual, with their own unique state of balance, both mental and physical. No-one is too young or too old to benefit from osteopathic treatment, as each treatment is appropriately tailored to the individual.

Osteopaths, who are all medically trained, use their highly developed sense of touch - palpation - to identify problems in the tissues. Once a diagnosis has been made there is a wide choice of techniques that can be employed from cranial work, to gentle stretching and mobilising of the areas, to manipulation of the joints.

In the past there were very many more people who did heavy manual work, strained their joints, particularly the low back, and osteopathy was almost synonimous with the treatment of this area of the spine. Over the past few years however, there has been a big change, and machines and computers are playing an ever increasing role in the workplace.

Also Health and Safety regulations have dictated limitations on the amount of weight workers are permitted to lift. People do still present with lowback problems but mainly from the very popular "hobby" of gardening, whereas work-related problems have taken a major shift to involvement of the upper spine, particulary neck and shoulders, as people sit for hours at a time in front of a computer screen, often not at the correct height or angle or spend hours sitting in a car - again often with not ideal seats with offset pedals etc..

With reference to the above, osteopaths are required to treat many postural problems and repetitive strain symptoms, and it is very important to give advice that will minimise the need for future treatment. A good follow-up for many of these cases would be the Alexander Technique, as so many people perpetuate their problems through bad posture.

Prices:

First appointment - £40
Follow-up appointments - £35