Give me space

Oh no, not another slipped disc!

Let’s get this right, discs don’t slip. If there is one way to make an osteopath hold his head in his hands and moan a little it’s to say ‘I’ve got a slipped disc’. The discs in the spine we are talking about here are well and truly glued and welded to the vertebrae in-between which they sit. There is no way one of them can slip. Are we clear on that now?

So if it doesn’t slip what does it do? Like the rest of the body, if a disc is not treated particularly well it wears out. The nice strong ligamentous shell that encases the slightly more fluid gel like centre can dehydrate, crack and warp.  Eventually a bulge can appear on the disc as it fails under the pressure and, on a really bad day the disc may even herniate or burst allowing the central gel core to leak out.

If a disc herniates you’ll know about it. The leaking gel will press on to the nerve arising from the spine at that level and that pressure will be made even worse as a result of the inflammatory reaction that occurs around the disc.  Inflammation means swelling and swelling in a confined space right next to a nerve is not good news. Pressure on the nerve produces intense pain that normal pain killers won’t touch along with pins and needles, numbness and weakness along the path of the nerve.  This most commonly occurs in the bottom of the back and affects the leg on one side but it can also happen in the neck and affect an arm.

If it gets to the herniated disc stage often surgery is the only way forward.  Better to catch the problem at the slightly warn out bulging disc stage so you don’t have to go down that route.  Bulging discs are not uncommon. Many folk with have them and not know that they are there but eventually, a bit of extra stain or pressure on the spine will push things over the edge. There might be localised pain around the area and protective muscle spasm. The muscle spasm itself can be really very painful.  There may also be signs of the nerve pinching if the bulge is big enough to press on a nerve root, so the pins and needles and numbness may occur. This is your body sending you a warning. Treat this the right way and it won’t necessarily deteriorate into the full grown disc herniation.

The way forward is to create space. The disc has essentially collapsed, usually to one side.  It acts like a deformed balloon, as the bulge appears the structure collapses to the side of the bulge so compressing everything on that side, nerves included. The natural tendency for the body is often to lean to the opposite side in an attempt to take pressure off the bulging side. The muscles all around the area want to hold on tight in an attempt to protect the area so spasm sets in. The problem with spasm is that it compresses things together, which is the opposite of what you really need.  We’re looking for space, to decompress the disc and give it room to reduce the pressure on the nerves.

Creating space by stretching and reducing the muscle spasm is the way forward.  And no, we won’t be following that up by ‘putting the disc back in place’.  If it never came out in the first place it won’t need putting back in!

Breast Feeding and Osteopathy

There must have been a baby boom over Christmas because already we’re seeing more than normal numbers of post natal patients (mums and dads!) to start the year.  Interestingly it’s not just the usual pelvic and low back aches and pains which have been presenting to us. There have also been a number of breast feeding related issues.

If you were to do a Google search for ‘Breast Feeding and Osteopathy’ it’s interesting to see that the majority of the articles that come up are related to potential problems with the baby and how cranial osteopathy can be of use.  Whilst that maybe true I find it strange that more emphasis isn’t placed on the mother. The regular feeding routine, especially through the night time hours can leave its mark on mums’ body. Feeding a little one when you’re half asleep in the early hours of the morning can see you slumped and twisted in all sorts of awkward positions, resulting in a stiff and achy back.  The tensions introduced by poor feeding posture along with the constant strains on the system from nursing a baby can lead to a slowing down of milk flow.

Stiffness across the upper back and shoulders along with a slumped posture with rounded shoulders effectively can restrict the flow of milk to the breast(s).  It can also reduce lymphatic drainage away from the breast resulting in an increased risk of mastitis. You may find that one breast seems to be favoured by the baby possibly because the flow of milk seems better on one side.  This can mean that mum ends up holding the baby on one side more than the other which increases the physical imbalance on the body which further complicates the problem.  Osteopathy can work really well with these sorts of problems.

Of course it might also be useful to get the baby checked over to see how he or she is coping with breast feeding.  This is where cranial techniques can be very effective. It maybe that the birthing process has left baby with a preference for turning the head in one direction and struggling to turn the opposite way. This obviously has potential implications for breast feeding so sometimes both mum and baby need some attention.

Watch out for Winter Hibernation

The clocks have changed and we’re running out of daylight very quickly now.  It’s tempting to head towards a state of hibernation but that potentially means stiffening up and leaving yourself open to injury.  Hopefully Mulberry Osteopaths have helped to get you back on track and we hope that you have managed to keep the old aches and pains at bay successfully over the spring and summer. However, don’t let it all go pear shaped with the change of the seasons!

Top of the list of advice is to stay active which can sometimes be harder to achieve with the shorter days. The long hill walks and leisurely games of golf maybe a bit trickier to fit in so indoor activities may need to take over.  Perhaps it’s time to think about a yoga or Pilates class. It might even be worth looking at winter time gym memberships.

The swimming pool could be another good idea to keep you moving through the winter. There’s also the added benefit of having access to saunas and steam rooms to help you defrost the body on some of the colder days ahead.

Also remember to keep warm when you’re outside. A cold muscle is going to be easier to injure than a nice warm pliable muscle.  School kids might think it looks great to walk around in the freezing cold without a coat but hopefully you’re more sensible than that.  Get the layers on and make sure the hat, scarf and gloves are on hand.

Simply getting outside during the limited daylight hours is in itself useful.  We take the sunlight for granted during the long days of summer but the impact of daylight on the mood should not be underestimated.  In extreme cases folk suffer badly with SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) becoming depressed, fatigued and apathetic in the absence of daylight. This has the knock on effect of making the sufferer less active, potentially more sensitive to pain and ultimately more prone to injury or recurrence of an old injury.  If it’s a bright crisp autumn or winters day try to make sure you go for a walk or potter around in the garden.

It’s the time of year to take it easy with your activity and treat your body with some respect.  Remember that you are potentially a bit stiffer than you might like and the muscles are probably a bit tighter than usual so don’t go mad in the garden without a gentle warm up stretch.  Also watch out for the crazy snow clearing activity should that be required. Great for a good cardiovascular workout but your back may not like it so much.

Try not to be the one ringing for an emergency appointment with us over the next few months.  

The Problem and the Pain

Funnily enough the problem isn’t always where the pain is!

Osteopaths are used to seeing people in pain.  After all that’s usually why folk come to see us in the first place. They are hoping that we can relieve or ideally remove the pain.

As far as I’m concerned, one of my jobs as an osteopath is to make sure patients have a better understanding of why they are in pain.  It comes as a surprise to many people when they find out that the bit that hurts is often not really the site of the underlying problem.

We are talking basic mechanics here.  If one area stops working something else normally has to work harder to compensate.  The classic example of this which I seem to be seeing a lot of recently is pain and tension around the hip and buttock.  Okay so we know where the pain is but when we look to see how things are working we find that in actual fact the hip is moving really well and it’s often the base of the back which is stiff and ridged even though there’s no back pain.

The pain around the hip is related to the tension in the muscles and soft tissues that are being worked so hard as a result of the low back essentially not pulling its weight.  Treatment therefore is relatively straight forward. We soften up all the over worked muscles but, more importantly, make sure we back that up with waking up the low back so that it starts moving again.  Working the muscles around the hip alone may provide some temporary relief but patients often find that the problem recurs because the underlying problem has not been addresses.

So the moral of the story is that the problem isn’t always where the pain is.  Step back and take a look at the whole thing.

Avoiding Holiday Back Pain

After eagerly awaiting the long overdue summer holiday the last thing you want to happen is for it all to be spoilt by a case of holiday back pain (either yours or your partners). It’s silly season so Mulberry Osteopaths are always busy over the summer period.  It might be the shock of all that activity after days spent at the office desk, the stress of a holiday with screaming kids, the lumpy bed, or the hours squashed onto an economy flight.

Here are our ten tips to help you avoid holiday back pain:

1. Be Prepared and Loose the Stress – Give yourself plenty of time, don’t start the holiday in a blind panic trying to catch a plane or train. If you’re stressed you’re much more likely to give yourself an injury.

2. Pack Light – With surcharges for excess baggage on flights it’s tempting to over pack the hand luggage with all the heavy stuff. Remember that you’ll have to carry your load around the airport. Besides, do you really think you can lift it above your head to fit it in the overhead lockers on the plane?

3. Use Wheels – If your luggage has wheels, that’s great. If it doesn’t, make use of luggage trolleys if they’re around.

4. Move Around – You’ve arrived at the airport two hours before departure and you’ve got three, four or maybe more hours ahead on a plane. Make the most of the freedom at the airport and move around because you won’t get as much freedom on the flight.

5. Break the Journey – If it’s a long road trip stop off and remind your back how to move, even if it’s just a walk to a café and back. Have a stretch, you know you need it.

6. Back Supports – Let’s face it most plane, train or bus seats aren’t designed for your average human being so they may need a bit of extra padding like a small cushion or rolled up scarf in your low back to make it slightly more comfortable.

7. Walk it Off – After a long journey by car, plane, train or yak have a walk at the end of the trip to get things moving again. Also don’t be in a rush to lift that heavy case out of the boot of the car, loosen the back up a bit first.

8. Take it Easy – After a long trip to your holiday destination don’t shock the body too much on day one. Give your body a chance to recover from the journey with some gentle activity before stepping up the pace.

9. Have a Rest Day – It’s very tempting to cram as much as possible into your precious holiday but you might find it helps to have a rest day.

10. Pre-flight Check – Especially if you’re working like a lunatic in the run up to the well-deserved holiday you may find making a pre-holiday appointment for an osteopathic MOT saves us having to pick up the pieces after the holiday.

Have a great holiday and we’ll see you when you get back!