Category: Osteopathy

While selecting a bed due importance should be given to posture and spinal anatomy. Most people are not aware of these considerations. In fact, with affluence and luxurious living, things are changing for the worse rather than the better. Cotton mattresses are being replaced by foam mattresses. The thickness and number of pillows used by an individual are increasing. Springs are often added beneath these foam mattresses. A comfortable bed is considered to be one into which you sink in. Is that correct? Very definitely not!

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‘My bed is so cosy, nice and soft,. When I sleep I sink into it, I am in adreamland and I feel wonderful and so fresh in the morning. I love my bed, it is so dear to me.’ ‘Disgusting!’ said the osteopath.

‘I have never played any game in my life. When I was young I entertained myself with novels and movies, or kept myself busy with my course books; I was a bookworm. When I got married, I hardly had my chance to participate in games. My house is well equipped with modern gadgets and amenities so that I hardly exert myself physically.’ ‘Frustrating!’ said the osteopath.

Continue reading Osteopathy: Adopting the Correct Posture

Muscles

There are quite a few muscles which act on the spine and help in its different movements. There are short muscles which act directly and long muscles which act indirectly and aid in the movements of the spine. They help to steady the spine. They produce extension, lateral bending and rotation.

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The intervertebral joints of the spine can be hypomobile (less mobile) or hypermobile (more mobile). A hypermobile joint with elongated weak ligaments is more vulnerable to disc lesion. Hypermobility leads to impaired nutrition, and then degeneration and softening of the disc. In this case, as the supporting ligaments of the annulus fibrosus are weak, herniation of the disc is inevitable. Hypermobility also leads to injury and tearing of the ligaments, and when there is a prolapsed disc, it takes much longer to heal, as giving support and rest to these joints is difficult.

Continue reading Osteopathy: Mobility of the Spine for Correct Posture

Susceptibility of the Spine to Pain

Why is the spine so susceptible to pain? The answer lies in man’s acquisition of an erect posture. During the process of evolution, man became a biped from a quadruped. When walking on four feet, the spine was supported by the two hands and feet. It never had to bear the flexion strain as it had no need to bend forward, being supported by the feet.

When man assumed an erect posture, the compression and flexion strains were added to the spine, for which it was not designed. Worst of all, each pair of nerves emerged from the weakest portion of the spine–that is, the intervertebral joints. Moreover each joint contained a disc (except the two uppermost) – a ring of fibro-cartilage with a pulpy centre, and a nucleus pulposus, adding further to the spinal weakness.

Continue reading Osteopathy: Susceptibility of the Spine to Pain and Osteopathic Lesion

You bend down to lift something heavy, perhaps your own child, and feel something ‘go’ in the small of your back. You feel an exruciating pain and cannot even get up. One day, you feel pain and stiffness in your neck and you think that it may be due to an odd position your neck was in while sleeping.

Coming down the stairs you slip and sprain your ankle joint, or you open your mouth to yawn and cannot close it.

Continue reading Osteopathy: Manipulation of the Spine

Headaches occurring at intervals on the right or left side of the head, are associated with nausea And vomiting. There may be a feeling of seeing non-existent objects in front of the eyes before the onset of the headache. Such headaches usually start before the age of 30. Many such patients respond to manipulation. In some cases migraine may occur at the back of the head. In such cases manipulation will relieve the headache to a considerable degree.

Migraine of Cervical Origin. Spondylosis and osteo-arthritic changes in the cervical spine can cause an inflammatory reaction. This causes a spasm in the vertebral artery and its branches, resulting in a headache with the following characteristics:

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Frequently, a chronic headache resistant to treatment is due to a disorder of the cervical spine, which may be cured by manipulation. Certain mechanical changes in the cervical spine may cause an intermittent or a continuous headache. These changes respond well to manipulation. The pain can spring from the neck. Some people do not believe in the possibility that pain can radiate from the neck to the head.

An experiment was carried out by Kellgreen. A concentrated saline solution was injected in the area where the cervical spine first joins with the head, producing tenderness and headache in the forehead region. This proved a connection between the neck and the forehead.

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A headache is a common problem today. Who does not get a headache? An executive, a philosopher, a scientist, a business magnate, a clerk a housewife, a student – everybody, at sometime or other, is afflicted by a headache! It has no professional or age barriers.

Women suffer more than men. The reason may well be premenstrual migraines during puberty. These get worse as the years roll by, and are cured only by menopause. Contraceptives are known to cause headaches in some women and cure them in others. Headaches may become less frequent in pregnancy.

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A large percentage of patients being treated by general practitioners and being referred to various specialists suffer from back pain. Such patients constitute one-third of the total attendance in the orthopaedic out-patient departments, excluding accident cases. X-rays, electrocardiograms and other investigations are carried out and these patients are then informed that they do not have any serious problem. They are only able to give a vague description of their pain. Unable to find any abnormality in these conditions, the physician treats the problem as a psychological one and often refers them to a psychiatrist.

Continue reading Osteopathy: Curing Postural or Upper Back Pain