OSTEOPATH, LAURA MAIDMENT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MOVEMENT!
What keeps you excited about Osteopathy?
Being an Osteopath always keeps me on my toes. No two days are the same, with different people of all ages coming in through the door with different ailments and issues. For me, this keeps things super interesting, as each day can be so varied.
The main thing that keeps Osteopathy exciting for me is all the different avenues we can go down. There are so many different types of courses and further education we can do to add more strings to our bow and ultimately develop as an Osteopath. When I come away from an inspiring course I am so excited to use my new skills and see their results. It’s a journey of discovery and experience, one that will never be dull!
What can a patient expect from a consultation/treatment with you?
As a new patient, we will go through a detailed case history to get a good understanding of your body’s journey so far and identify previous factors that may be influencing the current problem. We will then go through a series of examinations which will be a mixture of movements, gait assessment, passive motions and neurological testing, if appropriate, to assess and identify the main areas of issue. This area may be away from the site of pain, as usually, the body compensates for weakness or stiffness elsewhere in the body.
Treatment involves soft tissue massage, mobilisation of joints, stretching through the fascia, sometimes manipulation of joints and generally getting the body to function better as a whole. We will devise a home rehab programme with specific exercises, which will help in the recovery.
Your top tip?
Movement is key! Movement, movement, movement. I can’t emphasise this enough to clients. We are living very sedentary lives and sitting far more than we’re designed too. This can cause shortening and weakening of muscles, stiffness in joints and even affect our breathing pattern and digestion. It’s all about effective force transference that helps take the strain off one area of the body, which over time can start to become overloaded. We need to make sure we’re moving beautifully in order to move without pain. Set timers for limited screen time, look into sit to stand desks, talk and walk, get out at lunch…..just move!
Your favourite at-home exercise?
A lot of clients I see I would say there is an element of stress and fast-paced life contributing to their symptoms. This constant state of arousal and fight or flight can affect muscle tension, breathing patterns, and posture. I often recommend a simple breathing exercise to down-regulate the sympathetic nervous system. It’s simply noting where the breath is happening and making slight adjustments to ensure ‘whole body breathing’ is taking place. It’s very simple but gets people to be more present, calms the individual and takes the body into a state where tissue repair and recovery can happen more efficiently.
What have you been doing for self-care during this time?
I have been taking this unique opportunity to slow down! I have been making the most of this precious time at home to reconnect with myself and reflect on my professional and personal growth, a time in which we would rarely have been gifted! I have increased my running and yoga practice, taking almost two hours out of each day for exercise and meditation, time which I would never have had before. This is helping to keep me grounded in this unprecedented and unsettling time.