The Carl Todd Clinic : Take care of your everyday problems

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Many common physical ailments can be successfully treated using osteopathy. Osteopathic care is based on the principle that while the body is a self-healing organism it occasionally requires a helping hand.

Some of the everyday problems we help people with are listed below. If your particular condition doesn't appear on this list, just call one of our clinics. We'll let you know if it's something we can help you with, or refer you to a suitable specialist if it's something we can't.

We can help you take care of:

• Back ache
• Sciatica
• Lower body joint pains
• Neck ache and whiplash
• Upper body joint pains
• Inability to relax
• Muscle spasms
• Work-related aches and pains
• Arthritic and rheumatic pain
• Minor sports injuries

• Fibryomyalgia
• Circulatory problems
• Digestion problems
• Lumbago
• Neuralgia
• Cramp

"I had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury while skiing and was recommended
to Carl. His diagnosis was confirmed by an MRI scan, and he arranged for me to see a
surgeon. Following surgery I had a period of rehabilitation under the control of Carl,
and thanks to him made a full recovery."
Anne Clark

Back pain is extremely common – six million patients visit osteopaths each year, and back pain accounts for over 50% of those cases. Pain exists for a reason. Your back will tell you very quickly when things aren't right, because the longer spinal faults go unchecked, the more widespread the strain suffered by the skeleton as a whole. The role of pain is to make us aware of the fault, so we can fix the problem.

Most people will suffer with back pain at some point in their life. It can vary from a minor niggling ache to a severe incapacitating pain that can spread to other areas of the body. Causes of back pain include chronic postural problems, unsuitable seating, unsupportive beds, inappropriate lifting, a sedentary lifestyle, stress and anxiety, accidents, sports injuries, pregnancy, and obesity. The cure for an aching back lies in persuading a stiff and painful spinal joint to move, and that's something we specialise in.

We can help you by isolating the source of the problem, treating the pain, and giving you advice on how to prevent the pain from recurring.

Sciatica is pain in the leg, usually caused by back problems, and occurs when something blocks the path of the spinal nerve on its way out of the spinal column.

Most back pain is a simple joint problem – the back's equivalent, you might say, of a twisted ankle – but when the problem persists, the swollen joint can irritate the nearby spinal nerve. Degeneration of the inter-vertebral disc can have the same result.

Another type of leg pain is called referred pain. When a joint becomes inflamed and painful, its nerve supply picks up the pain messages and pain is felt in the back. However, other tissues sharing the same nerve supply as the inflamed joint may also feel pain. It could be the sensation to the skin of the lower leg giving you a vague nagging pain in the buttock, hip or leg, far removed from the back itself. So, the back is the problem, and the pain in the leg is the symptom.

Whatever the cause of your pain, we can bring relief by identifying the root of the problem and treating the source of the discomfort.

Hip pain doesn’t always indicate a problem with the hip itself. The body's nervous and circulatory systems are closely linked, meaning pain in your hip or groin may actually originate from your lower back, or even a muscular spasm in the gluteal region. On the other hand, there may be a problem within the hip joint itself, such as osteoarthritis.

We can determine the source of the problem, and treat the pain.

Many neck problems are the result of modern life and the continuous strain we place on our bodies. For example, pain can be caused by repetitive movement, poor use of the neck’s full range of motion, poor work position, and stress. Headaches frequently accompany neck pain, and are caused by a build-up of muscular tension across the shoulders, which travels up into the base of the skull. Pain in the neck and mid-back can also result from trauma, especially car accidents, which can lead to problems weeks, months or even years later.

We can determine the cause of your symptoms and suggest a course of treatment to overcome your pain.

Not all shoulder problems arise from the shoulder itself, particularly where there is no history of trauma to the area. Many conditions unrelated to the shoulder can cause referred pain in the shoulder region. For example, neck dysfunctions, repetitive strain injury, tennis/golfer's elbow, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

We can determine the source of your discomfort and create a personalised treatment plan to relieve the symptoms.

Headaches affect most of us at some point in our lives. While painkillers can help to alleviate the symptoms, they don't address the cause of the pain. You may not have considered osteopathic treatment for recurring headaches, but the fact is that some types of headache respond very well, and we successfully treat many people for headaches.

There are many reasons why people suffer with migraines and headaches, including diet, stress, and chemical imbalances. Both tension headaches and migraines can often be alleviated by a course of treatment.

We can help you determine whether your condition can be treated with osteopathy and, if so, devise a treatment plan to help you.

Muscular tension is extremely common, mainly due to the physical and mental stresses we place on our bodies on a daily basis. If the tension isn't addressed early on, it can become prolonged and build up within the body, resulting in a chronic problem that can affect the joints. Taut muscles can pull the joints out of alignment, which leads to abnormal joint function.

We specialise in reducing the tension using soft tissue massage, manipulation and gentle stretching, before addressing the cause of the tension itself.

Work, whether at a computer terminal or in heavy industry, can cause disorders of muscles, tendons and joints, particularly in the back, hands and arms. Symptoms vary from mild aches and pains to severe pain and disability.

• Caused by manual handling and lifting:
   – Muscle and tendon injuries
   – Intervertebral disc lesions (‘slipped disc’)
   – Sciatica

• Caused by forceful or repetitive movements:
   – Carpal tunnel syndrome
   – Tenosynovitis
   – Peritendonitis
   – Epicondylitis (tennis elbow)
   – Mouse wrist

• Caused by poor posture or repetitive movements:
   – Low back pain
   – Neck and shoulder pain
   – Computer hump
   – Repetitive strain injuries

We successfully treat many work-related conditions and can provide advice and preventative exercise to avoid problems reoccurring in the future.

All of us beyond our twenties experience degenerative changes of our joints because of the limited way we use our bodies. This degeneration speeds up the ageing of our joints, and older joints are less tolerant of knocks and bangs. Arthritis is not a disease, but simply wear and tear: it only begins to cause pain once it has become more advanced.

Degeneration of the joints happens when the flow of fluid into the joint slows down – cartilage becomes brittle, ligaments, tendons and muscles dry out and lose their elasticity, and the joints lose their 'give and take'. If this process continues unchecked, the cartilage can become chipped and irregular, weight-bearing through the joint becomes uneven, abnormal bony outgrowths begin to form around the edges of the joint, and the joint swells.

The pain is caused by mechanical and chemical irritation of all the tissues of the joint. Mechanical irritation arises when the joint's soft tissues are stretched, often by excess fluid trapped in the joint. Chemical irritation is caused by the effect of 'inflammatory products' produced by the unhappy tissues.

The good news is that we can control the pain by performing simple movements to pump away the excess fluid and free up the stiff, tired joints. This rejuvenates old soft tissues that are binding up a joint too tightly: it is even possible for such movement to stimulate new cartilage growth.

At the same time we stretch and release the gristly old soft tissues that surround the joint – which become thicker and stiffer with lack of activity as time goes by – helping to ease pain and rejuvenate the joint itself.

We are in the business of making old joints 'younger'. Our skill lies in using therapeutic movement to bring joints on at the right rate, rather than pushing the debilitated joint too hard too soon.

Sports injuries are one of our specialities. They tend to arise either from a specific trauma, such as a bad tackle or a collision, or when an increase in functional demand is placed upon a fatigued joint or soft tissue that isn't functioning properly. This can cause muscle/pelvic imbalances, poor posture and altered spinal mechanics that can lead to any of the following:

• Shoulder impingement syndrome
• Tennis or golfer’s elbow
• Ligament sprains/muscle strains
• Cartilage tears
• Patella or Achilles tendonitis

If you've suffered a sporting injury, we can help to speed up your recovery time using various techniques including ultrasound, electrotherapy and medical acupuncture. We can also recommend a rehabilitation programme to reduce the risk of problems in the future.

Many sports people who visit our clinics, from amateurs to top professionals, have found that our osteopathic care has led to a significant improvement in their performance and a reduction in the occurrence of injury.