Conditions Treated

Low back pain is the most common type of musculo-skeletal injury. There are many types and causes of low back pain, the vast majority of which settle well without lasting damage. About 90% settle within 8 weeks, but costs UK production £3.5 billion per year.

Some of the the most common types of low back pain which we see are listed here. If you wish any further clarification or to discuss your issues please do not hesitate to contact us.

Spasm

This can be one of the most painful types of low back pain, caused by muscles over-contracting. This can not only affect the spine muscle but also the tummy (abdominal), diaphragm and pelvic muscles.

Spasm can be caused by a number of factors including excessive strain, over exercise, dehydration, poor mattress and stress.

We can treat this successfully through a range of techniques, including acupuncture, massage, mobilisation and heat. Normally people that consult us find that spasm settles rapidly and does not leave any lasting effects.

Sciatica

Sciatica is a pinching of the sciatic nerve. This nerve is the largest in the body, it starts in the low back, progresses through the buttock to the back of the thigh (hamstring), calf, foot and big toe.

Sciatica can cause pain, pins and needles, numbness and weakness in theses areas. There are many causes of sciatica. Sometime the spinal disc can press on the nerve, sometimes it is a joint (facet) or piece of bone (osteophyte). There are also rarer causes of sciatica. It affects around 5% of people.

It is very important to get the diagnosis correct. When we know exactly what the cause of sciatica is we can be much more certain about the best course of treatment and exercises and be able to give you a fair idea about your speed and quality of recovery.

Piriformis syndrome

This can mimic the symptoms of sciatica. Where the sciatic nerve passes through the pelvis it pierces the piriformis muscle. Sometimes this muscle tightens, effectively squeezing the sciatic nerve.

We see this a lot in cyclists and dancers. However it can also cause hip or buttock pain, stopping people from putting on their socks in the morning.

This normally responds well to localised treatment to the piriformis while ensuring that there are no other causes that have triggered the problem.

Facet Joint Pain

This can often creep in after the first flush of youth! The most common complaint we hear is “it hurts as I get out of a chair” then there are about three painful steps and all is fine again. Left unchecked this can progress to affect hobbies such as gardening, causing low back pain after being bent forwards.

We can get good results with this problem, loosening the spinal muscles and strengthening the abdominal ones. This redistributes the work load between the front and the back muscles thereby reducing the strain on the facet joints.
We will normally give you exercises to help to maintain the improvement.

Other Joint Pain

We see a lot of people, mainly slightly older, but also teenagers who have been diagnosed with wear and tear in their spines. Normally this is caused when the discs (the cushions between the bones) become thinner allowing the bones to become closer together. As the bones become closer together they can cause wear and tear. Although this is a natural part of ageing (and a reason why we shrink as we age) sometime this wear and tear (spondylosis) can be accelerated or cause problems.

While we can not cure this problem we can make you a lot more comfortable. Improving the suppleness of the spine for this problem can be done at virtually any age (we have successfully treated people aged from 17 to 96 years old with diagnosed wear and tear).

Often we give gentle exercises to help to preserve the newfound suppleness in the spine.

There are numerous causes of headaches, and we certainly can’t treat them all! However many headaches stem from the neck and we can help these.

Tension type headaches (TTH) are perhaps the most common type. They affect 21% of the population and can be divided into episodic and chronic. Episodic tension type headaches (TTH) tend to result from one off events such as an episode of stress.

Chronic tension type headaches tend to result more from longer term pressure. That could be a long term bad posture, maybe from a poor chair or a limp because you have another injury. Stress can also play a part. 26% of chronic TTH sufferers have weaker neck muscles and for every three women affected it only affects two men.

TTH sufferers often self help with anti inflammatories, paracetamol and caffeine. However in the long term these will actually make the problem worse and we are seeing an increase in reliance and addiction to pain killers.

As osteopaths we are looking for trigger points in the shoulders, neck and scalp alongside tight muscles and restricted joints that could cause the symptoms. We also analyse your alignment, strength, balance and posture to break through the long term chronic pattern of these headaches.

Sports injuries occur at any level, from those just starting out and improving their fitness to the international elite. Our common factor is our desire to get better and the way in which we push ourselves to achieve more. Unfortunately this occasionally ends in injury.

It is important for us as osteopaths to treat and manage you in such a way that allows you to (where possible) keep working on you health and fitness while we improve your injury.

Understanding your sport and ambitions is a key part of this.

Having access to rapid treatment with a precise diagnosis, resulting in a clear treatment and management program will help to give you the confidence to return to full sport as rapidly as possible.

Treatment programs focus on the underlying injury, while (if necessary) adapting your fitness routine to maintain fitness while working around and protecting your injury.

We also maintain close ties with excellent trainers who may be able to help with your sport.

Kevin has a background as a mountain biker and continues with cross country and free ride biking.  He is experienced at competing and crashing!

Emma is a keen runner and having competed in six marathons (and counting) she keeps Kevin busy with her various running injuries!

Pregnancy is an incredible period of change. Not just 40 weeks but also the changes in your body during the months after.

We often see pregnant women from 14 weeks. At about this time you may notice an increase in clumsiness. This can be caused by the release of a hormone called Relaxin.  Its job is to soften and loosen your ligaments. As the baby grows your body will change shape, with the spine becoming more rounded. This change in shape requires the ligaments to be softer so your body can align itself smoothly. This is a really good time to get rid of those bad posture habits. Sitting twisted on one leg on the sofa, reading propped up on your side or sitting cross legged can all put extra strain on your body now that your ligaments are a little softer.

However Relaxin affects all the ligaments in your body, from your hands to your feet and it is this that can cause a bit of clumsiness or an increase in sprains.

By 19 weeks baby is often beginning to kick and grow larger. You may notice your shape changing and this is caused by the baby growing and tipping your pelvis forward. This forward tip (nutation) causes an increase in the inward hollow of your low back (lordosis). Sometimes this can be accompanied with low back and spinal aches. Often gentle heat will help.
Week 20 - half way there! Sometimes some hip and groin twinges can come on. Don't forget that good posture and make sure you have good supportive pillows in bed. One between the knees can often help to ease hip aches.

Of course life is extremely busy after birth, but your body will take a few months to strengthen. Make sure your changing table and mat are easy to access without twisting, find a really comfortable feeding chair and persevere with those pelvic floor exercises!

We are trained in treating mothers throughout and after their pregnancy.  If required, we can (with your permission) liaise with your midwife or health worker. Not only can we offer gentle and safe treatment but we can offer good advice so you can help yourself too.

It is often divided into three stages.

Freezing Stage. This is the gradual freezing of the shoulder joint, pain can increase, becoming severe, often lingering. Movement reduces, reaching behind your back can become impossible. This stage can last 4-9 months. 
Frozen Stage. The movement is reduced, but there is virtually no pain if you rest your shoulder. The pain comes when you move it. This is months 9-14. 
Thawing stage. It’s getting better, the pain reduces and your movement returns as the bag or capsule is loosening. This is months 15-24 months. 

Although frozen shoulders do eventually get better it can be a prolonged and painful journey. We strongly recommend seeking advice from your osteopath who can provide effective treatment and advice for exercises.

The problems start when the rotator cuff is damaged. This can cause pain from the rotator cuff or an impingement where the ball pinches the lip of the socket or pinches a tendon.

Like with so many back and joint problems this can range from mild to severe. Even a mild RC injury can be very painful, causing not just shoulder pain but also neck and arm pain. We see a lot of these, particularly from gardeners after reaching that little bit too far or spending just that little too long cutting the hedge.

A medium RC problem may start after a period of reduced movement-maybe you've been in bed with the flu - you get better, and return to work. Having driven to work you reach back to get your bag off the back seat of the car and experience a sharp shoulder pain. What’s happened? The RC has weakened through bed rest and then there has been an extreme twist and wrench which has forced the RC and caused an impingement.

Sometime we need to get confirmation of this injury by diagnostic ultrasound scanning (the same sort of machine used in pregnancy scanning), but with our osteopathic treatment (massage, ultrasound and rehab exercises) these can respond well.
Often people complain of a painful arc syndrome (pain halfway through movement that eases when your arm reaches the top). This can be a sign of an impingement, that is the ball pinching a tendon within the socket.

Severe problems can result in tears of the muscle or tendons, and while we can rehabilitate some, others are best left to the surgeon. We do provide advice under these circumstances.

Manual therapy has been shown to be very effective in the diagnosis and treatment of rotator cuff and impingement syndromes. We use a combination of massage, strapping, ultrasound and rehabilitation exercises that are graded to return you safely back to health and strength.

Our practitioners at the Trinity Practice have also attended several conferences specialising in the treatment and diagnosis of rotator cuff and shoulder impingement syndromes.