Yoga and Osteopathy have a lot more in common than many people realise. As I type up my final treatment notes, I realise I have but a few minutes before my 6:45pm yoga class begins. I love the feeling I get after moving my body. Yet, as I settle into another child's pose and begin to … Continue reading Osteopathy and Yoga: Looking at the body as a whole
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Too much of a good thing hurts!
Knee pain sucks, particularly when it's of your own volition. You see I love movement and when fuelled by passion and a stubborn nature, the prospect of improving my deep squat was too tempting. As a result I spent significant periods of time stretching, mobilising, kneeling and squatting. Unfortunately blinded by the potential self satisfaction … Continue reading Too much of a good thing hurts!
Why sciatica during pregnancy?
With motherhood fast approaching, there are a lot of new and exciting changes happening during pregnancy, but sciatica shouldn't be one of them. Frequently pregnant patients come in complaining about sciatic pain pointing accusingly at their low back. Whilst we know that roughly 1 in 2 pregnant women will suffer from back pain during their … Continue reading Why sciatica during pregnancy?
The perfect posture myth
Mention the word posture and it's as if those around you shift uncomfortably in their chairs. Perhaps the knee jerk reaction is a result of our childhood being filled with the 'sit up straight' and 'don't slouch' mantras overemphasised by our mums and dads. It appears that posture is often blamed for our aches and … Continue reading The perfect posture myth
It’s time we got moving
As an osteopath I deal with movement everyday. I also see how a reduction of movement leads to a body struggling with pain, dysfunction and illness. Our bodies are designed to move, even down to a cellular level. The movement of blood, lymph, neurotransmitters, cartilage, bone and immune cells all help to maintain health. The … Continue reading It’s time we got moving
Why walking is one of the most important things to do for your health.
How far do you walk each day? If you are an average Australian it's about 3.2km (1). Doesn't sound like a lot does it? The introduction of trains, cars and planes has made the issue of distance negligible. We can be halfway around the world or visit family 100's of km away in a single … Continue reading Why walking is one of the most important things to do for your health.
6 ways to chose the right practitioner for your complaint
Last week I was treating a patient of mine, who it appeared had seen just about everyone to help her with her pain. Unfortunately this isn't the first case of it's kind that I've seen, in fact many patients with persistent pain have this all too familiar narrative. As the inevitable silence descended down upon the … Continue reading 6 ways to chose the right practitioner for your complaint
Back pain. Why we can’t fix it
Low back pain is one of the failings of modern medicine. Despite our best efforts, it is "estimated around 3.7 million Australians (16% of the population) have back problems and 70–90% of people will suffer from lower back pain in some form at some point in their lives"(1). We can attribute this pain to a disease process or structural cause for 8-15% … Continue reading Back pain. Why we can’t fix it
Flow: A lesson from nature
Being abroad has provided many opportunities to admire examples of how the body works by observing nature. One such example is the accumulation of foam on a river. Organic decomposing materials from vegetation or animals produces certain chemicals which reduce the surface tension of the water (1). As a result, air bubbles begin to form … Continue reading Flow: A lesson from nature
The unspoken sacrifices of an AFL footballer
Another year of the AFL season is underway. For those teams with a poor start to the year, reality has hit hard, while those who've had early season success remain optimistic about a finals campaign and dare to dream of premiership glory. I sit at a cafe, perusing an article dissecting Geelong's poor team defence. The … Continue reading The unspoken sacrifices of an AFL footballer