Healing hands can help to combat modern-day strain (From Worcester News)

Healing hands can help to combat modern-day strain

9:46am Wednesday 24th June 2009 in

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THE average office worker will spend hours upon end every week hunched over a steering wheel and a computer.

People generally are living more sedentary lives than ever before and following the collapse of heavy industry and with the help of new technology, jobs tend to be less physical than they were.

This has an impact on our bodies, specifically our bones and muscles, whether or not we realise it.

Osteopath Duncan Cameron- Mitchell, of Cameron-Mitchell Osteopaths in St John’s, Worcester, has noticed a change in the kind of problems people are experiencing in their musculoskeletal system since he first became a qualified osteopath 20 years ago.

Our bones deteriorate to some extent as we get older but the 42- year-old osteopath attributes some of the problems to changes in the way people live and work.

He said: “When I first qualified, about 70 per cent of the people I saw had lower back problems but now it’s more like 30 per cent.

“Now, it’s much more neck, shoulders and upper back. People are driving more often to and from work and are sitting all day at a computer screen.”

Advances in occupational therapy and the design of work stations have helped to limit some of the damage caused, but cannot eliminate it entirely.

Paul Taylor, aged 54, of Charlton, near Evesham, is one of the people who has benefited from treatment by Mr Cameron-Mitchell.

He had surgery on his lower back, only to develop problems in his upper back, neck and shoulders.

He said: “Osteopathy has been a complete life-saver.

“You really have to suffer from back pain to understand it. I spent a lot of time hunched over a computer and driving and I also worked quite long hours. It was getting to be quite painful in my back, neck and shoulders.

“I have also been frightened of needles but my osteopath was also able to use acupuncture and that has also provided me with pain relief.

“It’s a lot better at work now and I’m in nowhere near as much pain.

I go to my osteopath regularly because I find that stops the pain getting any worse.”

People who do more manual jobs which perhaps involve lifting or repetitive actions tend to develop problems in their lower rather than upper back.

To make up for our more sedentary lifestyle, some of us attend the gym where we can strengthen our muscles by using exercise machines or lifting weights but even here, there may be the temptation to overdo it.

Mr Cameron-Mitchell said: “Some people train too much, particularly after Christmas, rather than building up to it gradually.”

Not all people who visit or are referred to an osteopath need to see one and sometimes an osteopath will have to refer a patient on to another health professional to address the problem if their problem is not deemed musculoskeletal.

This is why osteopaths are trained to ask questions about a person’s case history and symptoms before they even start to use any osteopathic techniques.

He added: “We’re not going to treat people we think we can’t treat.”

Mr Cameron-Mitchell also said there were some misconceptions that all osteopathy involved manipulation of the spine – yet this is just one method.

He said: “People tend to remember that 15 or 20 seconds when you manipulate the spine and there is an audible pop.

“People think bones are being put back into place but the pop is just gas. It is the separation of the joints. People think the noise is bones cracking, but it’s not.”

He also criticised myths that osteopathy could be too vigorous for older people.

Patients at his practice range from babies to older people in their late 70s.

Tamille Phillips, who works with Mr Cameron-Mitchell, specialises in cranial osteopathy for babies.

For older people, Mr Cameron- Mitchell often uses gentle stretching exercises and rhythmic movements called articulation, rather than the more vigorous manipulation that may be appropriate for young adults.

He said osteopathy was also gaining more respect among GPs, distancing itself from other complementary therapies.

Osteopathy is subject to strict regulation – all those who perform it must be on a register, a statutory list managed by the General Osteopathic Council.

Mr Cameron-Mitchell also trained for four years and had more than 2,000 hours of clinical experience before he graduated.

He is a local man, born in St John’s, who attended the King’s School and trained in London at the British School of Osteopathy.

He has worked in Warwickshire, New Zealand and Oxfordshire.

“A common misconception is that we only treat the back because back problems are so common. It was only because osteopaths quickly became well known at being successful in treating the back.

“But we treat the whole musculoskeletal system, including occupational overuse syndrome, which is the new name for repetitive strain injury.”

NHS Worcestershire has attracted criticism for taking some patients off waiting lists for painkilling injections for chronic lower back pain.

Mr Cameron-Mitchell said: “There is a role for injections but if you can avoid pumping steroids and painkillers into your body then it’s better to avoid it. There is potential damage that can be done by use of steroids.”

WHAT IS OSTEOPATHY?

Osteopathy is a primary care profession, focusing on the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal disorders.

It also focuses on the effects of these conditions on patient’s general health.

Using many of the diagnostic procedures applied in conventional medical assessment, osteopaths seek to restore the optimal functioning of the body, where possible without the use of drugs or surgery.

Osteopathy is based on the principle that the body has the ability to heal.

Osteopathic care focuses on strengthening the body’s musculoskeletal systems to treat existing conditions and to prevent illness.

WHAT DO OSTEOPATHS TREAT?

Commonly treated conditions include back and neck pain, postural problems, sporting injuries, muscle and joint deterioration, restricted mobility and occupational ill-health.

HOW MANY ARE THERE IN THE UK?

There are about 4,000 osteopaths registered with the General Osteopathic Council, which includes some who practise abroad.

Those practising in the UK carry out more than seven million consultations every year.

Out of those consultations, 54 per cent of new patients are seen within one working day of contacting the osteopath and 95 per cent of patients are seen within one week.

ARE THEY PRIVATE OF NHS?

Most osteopaths are self-employed and work in the private sector, although more and more are now working in multi-disciplinary environments within the NHS.

Another growth area nowadays is occupational healthcare in public bodies and private companies.

All osteopaths, wherever they work, in private practice or within the NHS, must be registered with the General Osteopathic Council.