With 50,000 people a day suffering lower back pain in Edinburgh, what is it that osteopaths do that can fix back pain?
We listen
This might seem obvious, but anyone who’s experienced the “bum’s rush” at their doctor’s practice can appreciate the benefit of being given the time needed to describe their problem in detail. Each person’s back problem is unique to them. We take time to listen to your story from the beginning, making sure that all the possible contributing factors are identified and taken into account.
We examine
By looking at your posture, your movements, how your body responds to sitting and lying down we build up a picture of the functional capacity of your body and the impact it all has on your back. Only then do we look more closely at the painful area itself. Focusing on the area of pain initially and working out from there tends to lead to too narrow a view of back pain, meaning the clinician is at risk of treating symptoms rather than causes.
We advise
Giving you guidance on what you can do to help yourself in terms of posture and exercises (and any first aid measures) helps to increase your rate of recovery AND minimise the risk of recurrence.
We treat
Osteopathic treatment involves the “laying on of hands”. It’s always been a profession that relies on manipulative techniques to effect change in the way the body works. By working to improve the function of your spinal joints and other body parts (from top to toe), we can optimise the distribution of forces in order to decrease the strain on your sore spots. Your spine is a multi-segmented structure. Often some joints – or sections – tighten up, which puts a greater strain on the remaining mobile bits – which then in turn hurt; we can redress the balance.
We monitor
Steadily checking how your body is responding to treatment, exercises and postural change helps us adjust the treatment plan as we go along. “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley...” The road to recovery is rarely a straight one. We (you) must be prepared to adjust the plan to suit whatever comes up.
We collaborate
We will work with you in order to help you find the most lasting (and affordable for you) solution to your problem. We also work with a number of Edinburgh employers to help people in their work place.
If you’d like more help with your back problem, just drop us a line.
