Is it fair of me to claim the title “Edinburgh sciatica pecialist“? As an Edinburgh osteopath who has specialised in low back pain and sciatica for 25+ years, I think so. But you decide. Below I’ll lay out my background.
Why did I become a sciatica specialist?
When I was 20 I developed lower back pain and sciatica. I was an osteopathic student at the time. The contributing factors included heavy weight training, poor posture, lots of sitting, squash and rugby. Osteopathy helped, but it didn’t resolve my problem. The sciatica plagued me through my 20’s along with lower back pain. As an osteopath and a sufferer of sciatica, specialising in something I had a lot of experience of made sense.
How did I specialise in sciatica initially?
Inititally I thought a lot about my own case. This led me to develop the Cliff of Pain metaphor. I wrote my first book on lower backs and Harper Collins published it in 1997. Rugby legend Gavin Hastings OBE agreed to be in all the pictures, because I\’d helped him with his sciatica. (The publishers paid him too).
Word gets around and so I saw a lot of people with lower back pain and sciatica.
How have I continued to specialise in sciatica?
Then I decided to formalise my specialism. I studied for a Masters Degree in Pain Management at The University of Edinburgh. Guess what I spent my project year focused on? Yup, lower back pain and sciatica. As part of this I reviewed all the apps on the app store for sciatica. They were, on the whole, terrible. So, I spent a lot of time creating content for my own app for lower back pain and sciatica. I wrote another book on lower back pain, which has a section on sciatica (but no pictures of Gavin this time). Then I created a course for lower back pain and sciatica sufferers. Not satisfied with that, I created another course for fitness professionals who want to help people with these problems.
Am I specialist in sciatica?
Do I earn the title Edinburgh sciatica specialist? You decide. If you’d like to consult me, you can do so in person or via a skype call. Book an osteopathy appointment online.
