You could say I’ve been specialising in disc problems in Edinburgh for 27 years. I’ve certainly been practising as an Edinburgh osteopath for that long. And I’ve always had a firm interest in lower back pain and sciatica. I wrote my first book on lower back pain in 1997, along with rugby legend Gavin Hastings OBE (he takes a better picture than me!). You had to wait 20 years for the next book. But I hope time will show it to be the best book on lower back pain!
Why did you end up specialising in disc problems?
You have to be interested in the topic. You have to take a deep dive. And you have to accept that you won’t be as good at the other things. I wanted to be really good at something.
Where does your interest in disc problems come from?
I had an L45 disc problem myself in my early 20’s. It plagued me for years until I finally started taking my own advice. Without changing my ways things weren’t getting any better. Although osteopathic treatment helped, I kept falling off my own Cliff of Pain.
How did you take a deep dive?
I always read the research. And what I read – and what I saw in the clinic – puzzled me. People often felt better for treatment, but the problem usually recurred. A few years after becoming an Edinburgh osteopath, I studied the British Medical Acupuncture Society’s course, and that gave me some more tools. But people’s problems still came back (just as mine did occasionally). In the end I studied for a Masters Degree in Pain Management. It was this that gave me the time and the focus to fully understand backs and how pain works.
Really good at disc problems
I like to think I’m really good at diagnosing disc problems. In addition I think we have a great protocol for helping you to rehabilitate from disc problems and minimise the risk of them recurring.
If you’d like an appointment with an osteopath specialising in disc problems in Edinburgh, you can book an appointment online here, or call us on 0131 221 1415.
If you want self help for low back pain / sciatica click the link.
