Arthritis is seen by some people as a scary prospect, but it shouldn't have to be. There are many self care things you can do to help tackle your pain levels and keep you moving. Whilst wear and tear (degeneration) to our joints is a normal part of the ageing process, the pain from arthritic changes can be debilitating, so let's look at some ways you can help yourself. This article will focus only on osteoarthritis, sometimes referred to as OA, rather than other forms of arthritis. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines suggest that manual therapy such as osteopathy can relieve pain, increase flexibility and improve quality of life for people with osteoarthritis. This is also reflected by the NHS guidelines which recommend manual therapy (stretching and manipulation), alongside exercise, weight loss and pain medications to manage symptoms. Clearly, there are many things people can try before considering surgical options! What is osteoarth...

In today's modern world many of us suffer from injuries and pain in our muscles and joints arising not only from our hobbies, but from our lifestyles, work and illnesses too. We now spend far longer sitting behind computers, bent over our mobile devices and stuck in traffic behind the wheel of a car. We appear to do very little exercise and tend to neglect our bodies. When it comes to pain, too often we see only the symptoms being treated medication but sometimes we need to look at why the pain is originally occurring, not just that it's there. Sciatica is a prime example of this. We often hear that someone has sciatica and the doctor has prescribed medication to help to mask the pain, but the definition of sciatica itself is pain effecting the leg, therefore it's use as a diagnosis doesn't describe what the root cause of it is. The sciatic nerve is made of 5 nerve roots that exit the spine, and combine together to create a thick, cord like nerve which runs through the pelvis and down ...

​Osteopathy is a system of medicine that focuses on treating, and preventing, painful muscle and joint problems. By using specific hands-on techniques, Osteopaths focus on creating balance within the body. Osteopaths use joint mobilisations and manipulations (the 'click') together with stretching and massage techniques to increase the flexibility of joints and body tissues. This helps to relieve muscle tension, relieve muscle spasms and improve tissue health, all of which help the body to heal itself. Osteopaths are commonly thought of for treating back pain, and while this is something osteopathy can work really well for, osteopathy can be used to treat a variety of other things too, such as:• Neck pain• Shoulder pains, e.g. frozen shoulder• Elbow problems, e.g. tennis elbow • Hip and knee problems• Arthritic changes• Sports injuries• Generalised aches and pains• Headaches, particularly those arising from tension and neck problems• Migraine prevention• Nerve pain such as neuralgia or ...