CityAM news paper in LONDON article by Robin Lansman

Advice from Osteopath Robin Lansman in CITYam

Making NECK manipulation less risky - with careful and considered techniques

Neck pain affects almost everyone during their life.  Sometimes it gradually builds up due to postural stiffness – Common in the work place.

Other cases, happen from carrying children, doing the shopping, play sports, sitting and reading on a holiday sun-bed, or as a result of a car accident – rear shunt and Whiplash.

There are many Chiropractors, Physiotherapists & Osteopaths -  all offering different approaches to try and assist neck pain and stiffness.

As Osteopaths we always take a full medical history and precise and detailed hands on examination before we perform any treatment!

Once any RED flags are excluded and IF spinal neck manipulation is deemed appropriate and useful for the patients’ complaint, the nature of the procedure is then explained fully to the patient.

Any indication of structural abnormality or history of recent trauma or past severe trauma may rule out manipulation. Other techniques such as articulation and soft tissue may be useful as a first line of treatment.

The manipulation Osteopaths use specifically involves loosening the spinal joints to improve movement and is often preceded by soft tissue work into the muscles.

The manipulation itself is done using gentle hands-on contact and combines minimal multi-directional levers thereby reducing rotational forces and avoiding extending the neck.

The low-amplitude impulse applied, most often in side bending and flexion help minimise risks- this is the style of manipulation Osteopaths favour.

At all stages the hands of the professional osteopath guide the tensions required to achieve the specific changes to function the patient needs to improve their neck complaint.

Whatever choice you make, always ensure your patients are in good hands.

Body Back-Up Osteopaths are trained for four years to degree level and registered with the General Osteopathic Council, and fully insured as primary health care professionals.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome TOS - pins and needles in the arms?

Questions to find out if you might fall into this particularly common

 but often mis-understood condition

·         Do you ever wake up in the night with tingling in both arms and deadness?

·         Do you ever wake up with cold hands that don’t feel like yours?

·         Do you find it difficult to sleep on one of your shoulders and yet you don’t have a frozen shoulder, so you keep tossing and turning all night?

·         Have you been told you may be suffering from Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and have various arm symptoms including pain and stiffness?

·         Have you been diagnosed with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome?

·         Maybe you have even had the surgery and yet the symptoms have returned?

·         Do you work at a computer or desk for quite a lot of time or drive long distances and find that holding a pen for a great deal of time or using a mouse or steering wheel has become harder and harder to do over some time?

If any of these do sound like you and you are still at a bit of a loss as to know what to do with your symptoms that are disturbing your life and ruining your life-style, then perhaps come and see us for a consultation and we will be able to help decide whether the problem you actually have is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

It is a very common problem due to postural changes over time or commonly found due to using a computer in the work-place or the types of posture adopted during various sports and is frequently confused with other conditions and where treatment has often failed using this particular diagnosis looking at the area between the triangle between the neck and the collar bone and the upper ribs has been completely missed in the examination diagnosis.

Any X-ray would normally show very little change that would make the problem a structural problem and indeed a functional problem to do with the muscles in front of the throat and to the ribs and to the neck and to the clavicle,  this area is also known as being in the body called the brachial plexus which supplies the upper limbs with the nerves that provide sensation and also strength to the muscles as well as all the major arteries that go into the limbs and veins returning back to the heart.  Any compromise in this area would indeed create a variety of symptoms that can be confused very easily with some of the things mentioned above.