Would you like to know more about the causes of back pain?
Things that contribute to the likelihood of back pain are:
Poor health and nutrition
Increasing Age
Marked scoliosis
Reduced fitness
Loss of hamstring flexibility
Smoking
Psychological problems including Tension, Stress, Anxiety, Fear, Resentment and Depression
Drug abuse
Headaches
Neck pain
Leg discomfort
Stomach pains
Obesity
Poor quality of sleep
Excessive sitting
Pregnancy and caring for small children
For LBP in children (incidence 20-50%)
Too much TV
Competitive sports
Loss of hamstring flexibility
Birth strains and congenital anomalies which are problems a baby may be born with
Failure to receive appropriate treatment in growing years.
There are often many causes for the pain in your back and Osteopaths are even better trained than most medical doctors to figure out what has gone wrong, give you advice and treat appropriately so that most of the time your pain goes away quickly and you can avoid long term back pain, injections or surgery.
Osteopaths study for five years full-time at university to become very much a doctor of the musculoskeletal system. We study anatomy in great detail, along with physiology which is about how the body functions. We are trained to take a medical history, perform physical and osteopathic examination, appropriate orthopaedic and neurological tests and refer for x-rays to help us come up with a list of possible causes for your problem. Its always preferable when the cause of your pain is something we can treat and that is the case most of the time. When the cause is something else, we refer appropriately.
Why is it called Osteopathy? Well Dr AT Still who discovered osteopathy in the late 1800's in America said "You start with the bones". But its only a start and osteopaths look not only at your bones but muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia, nerves, arteries, lymphatics and viscera. We look at your posture, your body type and your illness and accident history. We basically check you out from top to toe!
Cranial osteopathy is very useful in trauma, for example where a fall has sprained the ligaments of the back and normal movement and exercise have been limited for many years due to pain, a skilled osteopath is able to gently remove the strain and help restore normal function. Its not uncommon to treat an injury that has been there many years and back and hip discomfort ease away.
Everyone's back problem is unique and will require a unique solution. That is why we have many skilled practitioners, with over 100 years combined clinical experience, all working together at City Osteopaths. We work with you to educate you about the CAUSE of your back pain and what you can do to help get yourself pain free and stay that way. We want to help you quickly back to health so you can get back to enjoying life, with long lasting results.

B.A., BSc.(Clin Sc.) B.Osteo Sc. MONZ
Reg Osteopath
Director City Osteopaths
Wellington
New Zealand
Phone 04 4991439
http://www.cityosteopaths.co.nz