Working from Home: Advice to give your routine a boost!

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In present times, countless numbers of us went from our daily commute into an office setting to changing our coffee tables into offices and our living rooms into classrooms. We weren’t given time to make ready for such an intense change, so here are some top tips to help you adjust to this new way of working. 

1.     Make exercise and physical activity a priority

Working from home means we will be decreasing our usual kinds of activity, for example walking to the bus, ascending the stairs of the London Underground and leaving our desks mid-day to grab a spot of lunch.  It also means we will be trapped indoors for lengthier periods of time, perhaps neglecting the fresh air and sunshine we inadvertently acquired, and this is vital to keep our immune systems in good shape. Lots of people will also find their routine form of exercise interrupted since gyms and workout studios are shut.

If you don’t have a regular plan for training, the easiest thing is to walk outside even for just 10 minutes or around the block a few times, either before or after your usual working hours or at lunchtime. If you don’t generally have time to exercise before or after work, there is no time like the present to have a word with your boss about adjusting your work hours to fit something in. It needs to suit your schedule and be enjoyable, otherwise you will simply not like it and are far less likely to stick with it.

Link up with a friend or colleague via What’s App, Facetime or Skype to support your commitment and intermingle socially.

Many different online classes and activities are all freely available all over the internet and YouTube. If you choose to try something new, start gradually and steadily increase your activity level. Trying an assortment of exercise activities is very important.

Adapting to life at present has made us all appreciate the vital role that exercise plays in maintaining our mental health as well as keeping us physically fit. Exercise releases endorphins, the happy hormones that are a welcome addition at this time of turbulence and unease. It also helps us take a break from glaring at our laptops and TV screens and thinking about the latest newsflash, government statements or work pressures.

When we exercise, it can truly make a significant difference to be present and in the moment; to focus on where we are and what we are achieving as opposed to being lost in the various story’s in our minds. There a numerous apps out there and the Headspace app in particular has some great mindfulness exercises to be done in combination with walking and other physical activity. It is important to recognise we can achieve the very same goals by being aware of our surroundings, the sounds we hear, our breathing, our heartbeat and just by simply noticing our feet as they hit the ground with each step we take.

2.     Establish a routine for getting up and going to bed

The novelty of not having to go into the office of late may be wearing off and the temptation to stay up late into the night binge-watching television shows or having regular lie-ins only to find yourself working later into the evening may be morphing you into a less beneficial routine. While it was OK to do this for a few days to help get your head around all the madness, scientific studies show us that effective sleep is shaped by having a regular time of getting up and going to bed.

This doesn’t mean you have to be an early bird when your usual preference is to be a night owl. Nonetheless society has an inclination to see waking up early as being righteously superior and more reflective of conscientious workers, nevertheless there is no body of proof to support this. This means that this period of prescribed home working could help you create a more productive workday because it is okay to attend to your own body’s natural habits.

Pick a time to rise that you can naturally stick-to every day, including weekends. You’ll understandably need to agree this with your firm, but truthfully there are very few roles that can’t have an element of flexibility in the current climate.

3.     Create a designated working environment

If you are not careful, work quickly blends into home life and you find yourself unable to really relax. A chosen working environment isn’t just about having a place where your laptop and paperwork is set up, it’s also about keeping to your regular morning work routine – get up, get showered and get dressed.

Your regular routine will get you into ​ “work mode”, which will help you switch on to work effectively, and allow you to switch off once your computer shuts down. A designated workspace that you can leave at the end of the working day is also important. If you work in the kitchen or on the dining room table, you should pack things up at the end of the day, so these spaces now form part of your ​ “home”.

Split your work hours from times for self-care and leisure. Begin your working day at a specific time, break for lunch and finish at the end of the day as you would ordinarily. Avoid ducking work in the middle of the day for leisurely distractions (unless it’s part of your lunch break) and save time to read a book or watch TV for after work, or you may find yourself feeling guilt-ridden and continuing to work into the evening when you should have closed the laptop and email down.

Avoid the temptation to do more because you are not spending significant periods commuting. Not having a long commute can be golden time for you!

We don’t know how long we will be enduring this lock-down and burning out before we are done will not serve anybody. Lots of people (myself included) have thought this would be a perfect time to get all of those jobs on the ​ “To Do” list ticked off and tried to make a speedy start. The truth is that we are all dealing with enormous changes to our lives at present and this takes massive amounts of mental and emotional energy.

Be kind to yourself for a little while as we go in to the extended few weeks of the ​ “new normal”. If they haven’t done so already, things will settle into a routine and you are then likely to have some space to take a look at your jobs and get your creative juices flowing.

4. Eat Sensibly

Many of us turn to food as a source of comfort when we are stressed and anxious, chocolate eggs providing a welcome distraction! And the temptation to reward we with treats when working from home is likely.

Trying to keep the discipline of regular mealtimes where you can prepare a good meal and concentrate on the food you are eating. Avoid too many carbohydrates like biscuits, crisp and cereal bars and ensure you are getting plenty of protein in your diet. Boiled eggs, cooked chicken and oily fishes like salmon are great sources of protein and foods like peanut butter and hummus combined with chopped crudités of carrot, cucumber and peppers make good snacks if needed. Once the Easter Eggs are gone Dark chocolate, nuts, berries and Greek yogurt are good sweet treats.

Be watchful of what you are eating to keep your immune system in peak condition – loads of fruit and vegetables including heaps of leafy greens like spinach, broccoli and kale. A decent tip is to try and have a variety of coloured foods in your diet – red tomatoes, blueberries, orange salmon, green beans, yellow peppers etc.

4.     What about ​how I'm sitting?

The most essential things in setting up your home/​workspace are comfort and adaptability.

You don’t need an expensive or specific chair or a desk at a certain height. Find a chair that you feel comfortable sitting in and don’t worry about having to sit upright all the time or sitting on the edge of the chair to maintain the arch in your back. It’s completely OK to slouch in the seat for a period as long as you are comfortable. Equally, if you feel more comfortable sitting back in the seat with your back supported, that is fine as well (but it’s not essential!) Comfort is the most important thing to remember.

Have your laptop or computer in a position where your shoulders feel relaxed and comfortable and you can see the screen and make sure that your paperwork and other equipment is within easy reach. The worst thing you can do is think that you need to maintain a certain position or only move within the restrains of certain space.

Monitor too low? Prop it on some reams of paper or a stack of books.

Only have a laptop? A wireless keyboard and mouse could be the most useful essential purchase you make online to help make your home work space, work for you. Your laptop can then be planted on that stack of books or paper I mentioned before.

For some more guidance on setting up your work place our guide here will give you some pointers – As I say, take it with a ‘pinch of salt’ we don’t expect everyone to spend 9 hours sitting like they’ve come just come out of Swiss Finishing School!

5.     Most importantly — get moving!

Avoid sustained positions and move around often. This is the most important thing we can do to lessen and avoid work related aches and pains. When we are working from home, we often have less motivation to get up from where we are sitting and can find that we’ve sat for a couple of hours without changing our position. Sustained positions mean we are putting stresses and strains on joints and muscles for lengthy periods, which decreases the blood flow to these structures and causes increased mechanical pressure. Imagine walking around with your fist scrunched or your jaw clenched for a prolonged period. Find reasons to get up and move – make a hot drink, reach for a pen, stand up to make a phone call — or just set an alarm to stand up, bend sideways, roll your shoulders around and twist to either side before sitting down again and why not try one of our work place workouts which are ideal or working from home too. I am a fan of recommending exercises like these to get you moving throughout your working day at home or in the office.

6.     Set News limits

At present, the relentless conversation about Covid-19 is devastating. It’s on TV, social media, newspapers and magazines and it’s also the chief topic of conversation amongst friends and family. While there is a benefit to staying up to date with current advances, too much information (much of it hypothetical) can take a levy on our mental wellbeing. To cope with this, there are some things you can do:

Make sure you get your news from reliable and truthful sources. Think about where you are getting your info from. The most up to date and truthful advice can be found on the Government’s website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Set time limits. The news is 24⁄7 and it is easy to be continuously tuned to the TV or radio. Limit your news watching to certain times of the day and limit the amount of time you spend on social media.

Dodge the quick glance at the news before you go to bed

Be up front and honest with people if you’d rather not talk about Coronavirus. It’s reasonable that chats revolve around current events, but it is totally acceptable not to want to talk about it all the time.

Ensure you are not bottling up your feelings or concerns and seek support when you need it.

Read good news stories too. There is still a lot of positive happenings going on around us. Positive news doesn’t belittle the crisis, but it does give a sense of steadiness and supports our mental health.

7.     Talk to friends and colleagues

Being at a computer much of the day often means our default mode of communication becomes email, text, add to that the WhatsApp messages and memes and it can be downright overwhelming.

Working from home means we clearly miss out on face to face contact and casual conversations with our work colleagues. While many components of our lives have been curtailed, most of us are still filling time with other things we can discuss with family, friends and colleagues – the trials and tribulations of DIY, books we are reading and how on earth do you do long division?!

Why not form a healthy habit of picking up the phone or making a video call to a friend, family member or colleague at least a couple of times a day. Talking gives us a chance to discuss our worries and anxieties, to acknowledge we are not dealing with this crisis alone and to offer much coveted support for one another.

Quick Tips

Prioritise exercise	Exercise is vital to keeping positive mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Create a routine	Helps establish a more productive workday, lets your body to follow its natural habit & encourages better sleep.
Establish a designated working environment	This helps you toggle on and off from ​ ‘work mode’. Pack things up at the end of the day or leave the room – to switch back into ​ ‘home mode’.
Eat Sensibly	Try to keep to regular mealtimes and be thoughtful of what you are eating to keep your immune system in an optimum condition.
Think comfort and variability at the desk	Don’t feel confined to one way of sitting at the desk, ensure you are relaxed and comfortable.
Move more	Avoid long periods of sitting or sustained positions and move around often.
Set news limits	Limit your consumption of news and social media to certain times of the day and avoid it before bed.
Keep communicating	Call friends, family or colleagues a couple of times a day to keep connected and support each other.

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Back Pain: The Chain of Command

Your spine is essentially the chain that forms the ‘backbone’ of your entire body. Without it you would be a blob of muscles, organs and soft tissue piled on the floor.

Your spine commands respect because it is the pillar that supports your body, allows you to walk, stand and sit, as well as touch and feel; because it forms the canal connecting the nerves from your body and limbs, to your brain. While your heart may be the vital organ that keeps you alive, without your spine you wouldn’t be able to move. 

There are three natural curves in your spine that give it an "S" shape when viewed from the side. These curves help the spine withstand great amounts of stress by distributing your body weight. Between the bony vertebra are spongy discs that act as shock absorbers. The lumbar spine (or lower back) connects the thoracic spine to the pelvis, and bears the bulk of your body's weight.

Your spine is not rigid though. It allows movement through the intervertebral joints connecting the bony vertebra. These joints allow you to twist, to bend forward and backward, and from side to side. Large groups of muscles surrounding the spine, pelvis, hips and upper body all interact to allow for movements like walking, running, jumping, and swimming.

However, there are also muscles deep in your body that work constantly just to maintain your posture when you’re sitting and standing. It is essential that all elements of the spinal ‘chain’ work harmoniously together to ensure fluid movement without overloading structures resulting in injury and pain.

Any link in the chain that becomes ‘stuck’ will not only affect that spinal level but also the movement and strength of the chain above and below it. If the muscles around the spine are uneven in strength and length (flexibility) this too can affect the ‘chain’, altering the alignment and motion of the links.

Taking care of your spine now will help you lower the chances of experiencing back pain later. Many of the steps you can take to improve the overall health of your spine involve nothing more than practicing better body mechanics, or how you move and hold yourself, when you do daily tasks and activities.

Taking Care of Your Spine

Pay attention to early warning signs or pain. Although back pain is very common and nearly every person will experience at least one episode of back pain in a lifetime, it is essential to address any symptoms promptly.

It has also been shown in studies that early treatment and rehabilitation can prevent recurrent bouts of back pain and prevent the development of chronic lower back pain which can be very debilitating, stressful and depressing. It can affect your ability to work, play sport, socialise and sleep, all of which can further compound your pain cycle. 

Your back pain could be due to inflamed ligaments, damaged intervertebral discs, nerve irritation, bony formations on the spine, muscle imbalances such as weakness or a lack of flexibility, leg length differences, or muscle strains, to name just a few. Even the way we move (or don’t move) at work, school or sport can all be an underlying cause to the current pain.

How Osteopathy Can Help with Back Pain

Your Osteopath can treat the pain or stiffness experienced from back pain using massage, soft tissue mobilisation, spinal manipulation, heat, acupuncture and other devices.

It is important that you, together with your Osteopath work through a rehabilitation programme (specific exercises and stretches) to correct underlying muscle weaknesses, flexibility issues, and the  sequence in which the muscles around your spine work to provide stability.  A Osteopath can also give you advice on correcting posture / technique for work and sport.

Should you need referral to another professional your Osteopath can also help with this, for example, a dietician to counsel on a meal plan to achieve a healthy body weight. Being active can also help prevent as well as cure back pain.

Chat to us today about what we can do to help, email info@chartclinic.co.uk

 or call 01737 248 023.

Back Pain and Sleep Issues

One of the most common issues back pain sufferers experience is sleep disruption so we have put together an interactive Back Pain and Sleep Guide to help you banish those sleepless nights and wake up feeling refreshed.

The guide includes:

·         6 Strategies for Improving Your Sleep

·         8 bedtime stretches to relieve back pain (with video links)

·         Sleeping positions that will help relieve pain (with links to videos)

·         7 Yoga Poses that will help cure most back pain issues

·         A morning stretch routine that will help ease pain from a restless night (with videos)

 CLICK THIS LINK TO FIND OUT MORE AND DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE

HERE

Disclaimer: This information is intended as general guidance and information only and should not be relied upon as a basis for planning individual medical care or as a substitute for specialist medical advice in each individual case. 

5 Tips to Avoid Winter Sports Inuries

Following a six-week training plan to build strength can reduce the risk of injury on a winter sports break. According to a past US study, falls account for 75-85% of all ski injuries, mostly causing sprains, fractures, tears and dislocations. Of these, 30-40% affect the knee area, with women most likely to suffer this type of injury, the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis reports.

An unexpected accident on the slopes can happen at any time and a training regime combined with winter sports travel insurance can avoid an enormous medical bill!

Get a fitness plan

Although some injuries are unavoidable, improving strength and fitness is the best way to decrease the chances of getting hurt. I recommend following a structured six-week training programme before going away, addressing any areas of weakness.

My 5 tips to avoid winter sports injuries

1) Vary your training

I advise people to mix up their training ahead of their holiday. It should include 30 minutes of aerobic or cardio three to five times a week, strength training three times a week, and flexibility and balance training to improve key areas such as quads, glutes and hamstrings.

2) Build up slowly

Once out on the slopes, skiers and snowboarders should take a sensible approach to how much they do, building up gradually. That gives the body time to adapt to the strains of winter sports and will reduce the risks associated with exercising while tired.

3) Rest if needed

Winter sports vacationers shouldn't be afraid to have a lie-in or take a day off to give their muscles a well-earned break if their body is telling them they need time to recover.

4) Check your equipment

I cannot stress enough the importance of making sure everything is in good working order, whether it be ski boots or bindings. Check everything fits well (not too tight or loose) and does not to place unnecessary stress on the body.

5) Stay hydrated

A day on the slopes is tough, and keeping the brain and body well hydrated will maintain both energy levels and mental alertness, which is particularly important for those skiers and snowboarders fond of après-ski.

Pain and Stress: A domino effect

"The back carries the weight of the world" as a counselling, osteopathic lecturer of mine once said. I would not go quite that far but I do approve with the general principle that what we feel can manifest in our physical body, almost as if the brain does not want to deal with certain emotions and consequently, will create a physical pain. That is not to say the pain is not real, it is but there may be no obvious physical or physiological changes to be seen in painful area.

But to admit that pain is being caused by mental suffering seems to many people to be a massively taboo area, as  if it labels them as shirkers or making it up. This is most certainly not the case and it is imperative for people to realise that mental suffering, stress and so on are very real and that our brains have a host of ways of dealing with them, one being getting rid of and ‘off-loading’ onto the musculoskeletal system. Addressing both parts is a really key component of the treatment but the client must be open to the concept that some of their pain is being created by the brain.

Recent clinical research, as mentioned in Talk Back Magazine, the journal of the charity BackCare suggests that our ability to cope with stressors in life has a direct connection with the amount of pain we experience. Stress can worsen pain and conversely pain can lead to more stress. The symptoms may occur together, they do not necessarily always cause one another, they do though, share a common origin.

The connection in the brain is between the area of the brain that processes emotional responses and the parts of the brain that relate to the glandular, endocrine (hormone) and immune systems. The hormones released into the bloodstream affect every system of the body and for every type of receptor in the brain there is an equivalent in the body. This is the mind/body connection that as a term is regrettably associated with the more esoteric and obscure types of healing therapies but it is a s real as you can get!

One obvious response to pain or stress is the fight or flight response. Like a dark cloud hanging over us, stress or pain can change our biochemistry. Increased production of stress chemicals, such as cortisol are can affect sleep cycles, disturbing the rejuvenating deep sleep that is essential to our well-being. This can lead to decreased energy levels and an increased fatigue. The pain can be enough of a disruption to cause increased irritability, low mood, poor dietary choices and so on. The pain can lead to feelings of depression and relationships can become strained. Brain studies in people with persistent pain shows a rearrangement in those parts of the brain involved in understanding and perception. In other words, long term pain sufferers are inclined to think, feel and act like a long-standing sufferer.

Evidence from studies exploring the link between personality and long-term pain proves that long-term pain is preceded by the creation of predictable behaviours. So how we respond to pain can be understood as a consequence of many aspects including personality, how we manage our feelings and past experiences.

Osteopaths are taught the very basics of psychology and one significant reasons why I have invested a lot of time and energy on my own further development in this area, is to empower me in practice to help people explore the ‘other story’ behind their pain/ suffering. Recognising the factors that may intensify the symptom(s) of pain can really help one cope, deal with and finally and find peace with the issues, past or present.

Ask the Osteopath: Sciatica

By Chart Clinic Osteopath, Pavlos Pavlidis MOst.Med.

Hello everyone,

My name is Pavlos and I am a new member of the Chart clinic. I am a qualified Osteopath and have received a Masters degree in Osteopathic Medicine with First class honours.

In this article I will attempt to provide some insight for “Sciatica”, a term commonly used between clinicians as well as patients. However, it is also being commonly misused, especially by the latter.

In this article I will describe the meaning of this term in order to promote a better understanding. I decided to write this after many cases of patients that presented to our clinic thinking that they have “Sciatica” while in fact they did not.

To begin with the origin of the word “sciatica”, it derives from the Greek Ischialgia, with Ischio: Hip and Algos: Pain, and literally translates as Hip pain. In clinical practice it is commonly used to describe pain that radiates along the Sciatic nerve, usually as a result of compression at the lower back.

Now let’s get a closer look at the anatomy. The roots of the sciatic nerve exit from the space between the last two bones in the lower back vertebrae and the first three of the “tailbone” or sacrum as it is known to us, clinically referred to as nerve roots of lumbosacral plexus L4-S3.

                                       

It then travels to the buttock and back of the thigh area and divides into two branches at the back of the knee that goes all the way to the leg and foot. The Sciatic is the longest nerve in the human body and along with its branches supplies the majority of muscles at the back of the thigh, leg and foot. Furthermore, its branches provide sensation to the skin at the back and outside portion of the leg, as well as the top and bottom aspect of the feet.

Therefore, when this goes wrong or you get a  dysfunction of this nerve can lead to weakness of the above-mentioned muscles as well as burning pain, pins and needles or numbness to the back of the leg and foot.

(Note that any symptoms at the groin, front of the thigh or leg ARE NOT associated with the sciatic nerve and Sciatica would be completely inappropriate to describe them)

The term “Sciatica” describes any of the symptoms caused as a result of injury or compression to the nerve and therefore it represents a group of symptoms and NOT a diagnosis.  There are numerous causes of impairment of this nerve and its brunches, anywhere from its roots exiting the lower back to the lower limb. Some of the common causes include severe arthritis of the lower back, a “slipped disc” – a protrusion of the discs in the spine that compresses its roots, or tight muscles at the buttock (such as the piriformis muscle) and back of the thigh, as the nerves passes through them. Nevertheless, there are also some rare but potentially life-threatening causes of sciatic nerve impingement. 

Therefore, it is extremely important for anyone presenting with such symptoms to be properly examined by a clinician so a specific and appropriate diagnosis can be made.

Due to the variety of symptoms caused by dysfunction of this nerve and the numerous causes of it, it is often misused by patients that tend to use it to describe any low back pain that radiates downwards. However, self labeling must be avoided before a proper examination and diagnosis by a qualified practitioner, as it can be associated with diagnostic errors, misdiagnosis and therefore mismanagement.

Nowadays, the term has been labeled as “Archaic”, as it is non-evidence based and inaccurate as it literally translates to hip pain. The literature suggests that it remains from an era of poor understanding of the physiology of back pain.

To conclude: “Sciatica” is a generalised and non-descriptive term, as various conditions might lead to irritation of the sciatic neural tissue, in multiple anatomical sites with different presentation of symptoms.

Patients must avoid using this term and self-labeling themselves, especially if appropriate examination and diagnosis has not been carried out. Patients that experience any of the symptoms described are highly advised to seek help from a clinician with experience working on the musculoskeletal system to exclude any dangerous causes for that and provide appropriate diagnosis and management plan. This includes Osteopaths, Physiotherapists, Rheumatologists, Orthopaedic surgeons etc.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of my colleagues for any further information or advice concerning “Sciatica” or any other condition. 

Pavlos Pavlidis MOst.Med

Pavlos qualified in 2017 and received a Masters Degree with First class honors from the University of Surrey. During his time as a student he demonstrated a great passion for the profession, both in academic and clinical settings and was awarded with the Rising Star Award from the Institute of Osteopathy. 

In practice, he follows a multidisciplinary and personalised treatment approach, tailor-made for the needs of the patient. Pavlos has undertaken additional qualifications in Kinesio taping and Medical Acupuncture. Those extra skills have been found to be extremely useful in practice, as they provide additional treatment options, especially useful for pain management and rehabilitation. 

 References:

• Beers, M., Porter, R., Jones, T., Kaplan, J. And Berkwits, M. (2006). The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 18^TH ed. Whitehouse Station, N.J.: Merck Research Laboratories.
• Bogduk, N. (2009). On the definitions and physiology of back pain, referred pain, and radicular pain. Pain Journal, 2009 Dec 15;147(1-3):17-9.
• Fairbank, JC. (2007). Sciatic: An archaic term. British Medical Journal, 2007 Jul 21;335(7611):112.
• Helianthus Holistic Health Clinic. (2017). Acupuncture Balance Method for treating lower back pain and sciatica. Helianthus Holistic Health Clinic, IMAGE. Available at: http://helianthusclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sciatica.png
• Koes, B. W., van Tulder, M. W., and  Peul, W. C. (2007). Diagnosis and treatment of sciatica. British Medical Journal, 334(7607), 1313–1317.
• Matsumoto, Y., Matsunobu, T., Harimaya, K., Kawaguchi, K., Hayashida, M., Okada, S., Doi, T. and Iwamoto, Y. (2016). Bone and soft tissue tumors presenting as sciatic notch dumbbell masses: A critical differential diagnosis of sciatica. World Journal of Clinical Oncology, 7(5), p.414.
• Valat, J.P., Genevay, S., Marty, M., Rozenberg, S. and Koes, B. (2010). Sciatica. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, Volume 24, Issue 2, April 2010, Pages 241–252.

Not just backs! - What is Osteopathy?

Chart Clinic Osteopath, Francesca offers her insights on what Osteopathy is in her following introductory article.

Hello everyone!
My name is Francesca, I’m Italian. My first approach to the osteopathic world started 5 years ago with the beginning of my studies.

Before that, I was sceptical as most of the people in my country (well, now it’s hopefully getting better!) It’s a common belief that the osteopath heals bones and, to be honest, I thought that as well, at least once in my life!

Let us think about the etimology of the word: -osteo, from Greek osteon (that means "bone") and -pathy, from Greek patheia (that means “disease”).

However, in this case, the suffix –pathy derives from the english word “path” as to say that the osteopath acts through the musculoskeletal system (-osteo) in order to promote structural integrity and restore/preserve health.

In the UK the figure of the osteopath is much more well received. However I feel the need to make a step forward, dispelling a myth: osteopathy is not just about backs – it’s even more than that!

Recent research has showed that osteopathic treatments are effective in treating low back pain, whose life-time incidence has been estimated to be of 51% to 84%.

The question we need to answer is: what is causing the symptomatology right there? A type of pain so common, in fact, can mistakenly target toward hasty diagnosis and it is interesting to note that two patients that have symptoms apparently identical, have totally different etiology.

Apart from strained ligaments, nerve root’s compression or inflamed facet joints etc., the low back pain could also be caused by altered function of the gastrointestinal system: recent studies pointed out improvements in the quality of life of patients affected by the irritable bowel syndrome, following osteopathic treatments.

This is just one of the several conditions that could be managed by the osteopath, in association with a medical support where it is deemed necessary, thanks to a functional rebalancement between the neurological and vascular support between back and digestive organs.

Every body has its own innate capacity to heal itself: it could be impaired because of trauma or functional overload and overuse – our role is to find out what is causing the issue, and to activate that physiological healing flux once again.

FRANCESCA CAVALLARO

D.O. M.Ost. RQ (UK)

Francesca completed a 5-year course at the International College of Osteopathic Medicine in Turin, Italy. 

Her post-graduate experience includes studying at the Surrey Institute of Osteopathic Medicine (NESCOT), where she achieved a Master’s Degree in Osteopathy, internationally recognized as the highest academic achievement obtainable. 

Francesca works in Reigate at our Osteopathic Clinic on Tuesday and Thursday.

Call 01737 248 023 or book an appointment online at our website