Conversely, once I have you functioning beautifully but notice tight muscles or areas where their specialities can help reduce tension or stress, I'll refer you to them.. 

By working as a team we are always considering the most appropriate treatments for you depending on what you're needing help with. That way you get the best of both worlds - effective, appropriate support to ensure your body stays functioning at its best!

​What is Osteopathy?
​Osteopaths are primary healthcare practitioners trained to treat your whole body using hands on treatment. This may involve mobilisation and manipulation of your spine and joints, connective tissue release, massage, lymphatic drainage... or a combination of it all depending on what's best for your body.

As a manual medicine, Doctors of Osteopathy are also trained to screen for disorders of the cranial, nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, visceral and lymphatic systems. And yes, we can refer you for imaging or specialist care where required.

Does ACC cover Osteopathic Treatments?
If you've had an accident, YES! No need for a referral - we can sort it all out for you, or just bring your current ACC number to your first treatment. What's more, many insurance policies cover Osteopathic treatment and some also cover registered massage therapists - bonus huh! So check in with your broker to find out your options.

What's the difference between Osteopaths, Chiropractors & Physiotherapists?
The million dollar question! And having worked in this industry for years, there are cross overs in all of them.

Perhaps the biggest difference is that osteopathy has been around the longest (since 1872) and out of the modalities - Osteopathy requires the greatest level of base training i.e. with a 5 years Masters Degree.

That being said, here's how the differences were once explained to me:
"Imagine a tent as a body... at the centre of the tent is a pole (or spine) responsible for supporting the structure - generally this is what Chiropractors focus on using manipulation. Stabilising the tent are the pegs (or specific injury sites) - generally this is what Physiotherapists focus on using their diagnostic skills and exercise prescription. Surrounding all of that and everything that's inside (think nerves, organs, blood vessels etc) is the canvas... and that's Osteopathy. It incorporates a little bit of everything, making it truly a whole body treatment. And that's why I love it!

What should I expect with Osteopathic treatment?
Nothing scary! Osteopaths have a broad range of techniques in our toolbox to get the best results for you. As with all treatments at Vital Body, we work with you to make sure your are always happy with what we are doing.

Generally sessions look like this:

• First Appointment - usually takes 45mins to 1hr. We'll take a thorough health history and examination to find out what's going on and work with you to come up with a treatment plan. Time permitting, we should get some treatment done too.
• Future treatments - generally take 30mins and are treatment focused. We recommend a minimum of 3 successive treatments (depending on your presentation) to allow results to become evident.
• Your modesty is protected! You may need to bring shorts or a singlet depending on the area being treated, but you should never be uncomfortable.
• If we think you need further examination, Osteopaths are able to directly refer for imaging (ultrasound, X-ray), to advanced specialists and your GP.

What does Osteopathy treat?
Easy answer - pretty much everything! If we can't treat it we'll let you know at your first session and refer you on for imaging, specialist care or to your GP.

Here are some examples of what I've treated recently:

Stuck Ribs
Patient A took a kick to the ribs from her toddler (bless her cotton socks :-)and was experiencing pain with deep breathes in her ribs and feeling of "being stuck". After examination we treated her with a couple of manipulations and soft tissue work to free up her ribs, which resolved within a couple of treatments.

Chronic Headaches
Patient B has suffered from chronic headaches for years. We found his neck and shoulders were very tight, neck movement was limited and he clenched his teeth (lots of headaches come from that!). We freed up his neck and shoulders, worked on his jaw and re-aligned his work station....split screens have a lot to answer for!

Sore Hip
Patient C has a tear in her hip cartilage. She is not a candidate for surgery (and many surgeons are opting not to operate now which is awesome) so we worked to release the surrounding structures to take the pressure off her hip, gave her safe stretches specific for her needs and exercises to help reduce her pain. She is tracking along beautifully.
This is just a sample of how Osteopathy can help with many subsidised by ACC ...bonus!

How many Osteopathy treatments do I need?
I like to initially see patients in three fairly close successions to allow time to thoroughly examine, treat and re-assess. By your third treatment I like to see some positive changes.
How many treatments you need from then on really depends on your diagnosis - for example sticky joints generally resolve much faster than grumpy discs. It also depends how good you are at doing your homework... urgh ...the dreaded word :-) We'll let you know in your first treatment what you should expect.

Some patients pop in for a series of treatments when they have niggles, but most make treatment a weekly, fortnightly or monthly investment to stop the niggles from happening.

Why not make an initial booking and let's see how we can tailor a treatment programme that will make a real difference for you?!

​So how do you know if you’re jaw needs to be checked out by us (insert link to make a booking)?  Consider it if you are experiencing any of the following:

• Waking with pain in the jaw joint and tight jaw muscles
• Side deviation of the jaw when talking and yawning
• Tension headaches that won’t resolve
• Clicking / popping of the jaw
• Recent dental work
• Your mouth doesn’t open wider than three of your fingers deep
• Your dentist has noticed teeth wear

Treatments usually begin by releasing the muscles of the shoulders, neck and face; then if needed will include a small amount of intra-oral work (inside the mouth with gloves).  Trust me (and all the people I have treated) when I say this considerably less scary than it sounds, and the benefits are fantastic.  So where does the snoring part come in?  Well, we have had promising results from snorers undergoing this treatment when combined with lifestyle and home exercises.  It’s worth a shot!
Caring for Jaw Pain
There are many things we can do to alleviate your jaw tension and after consultation with us (link to Bookings) you will be given specific home care for your needs.  In the interim, here are a couple of exercises we have found particularly useful in our practice.
Retrain Jaw Movements
Place a tooth pick in the gaps of your middle top and bottom teeth (don’t force it if you don’t naturally have gaps there).   Using a mirror, open and close your mouth while keeping the toothpicks in line with each other.  This helps to retrain jaw muscles and correct deviations.
 
Jaw Self Massage
You have likely found yourself doing this automatically if you have tight jaw muscles.  The added bonus is it’s often helpful in easing tension headaches.

So now you understand a little more about connective tissue and why it’s important to treat, if you are suffering from any restrictions, please let us help you. Claire and myself have done extensive training in connective tissue realise (also known as myofascial realise) and you can expect to have to this work included in you treatments with us. ​

I have always known massage was effective in reducing lower back pain based on client responses from my treatments, but now this is strongly supported through research. Massage, specifically trigger point therapy, has been shown to be “superior for pain and function on both short and long-term follow-ups” when compared to physical therapy, acupuncture, joint mobilization and self-care education. So you can rest easy knowing you are doing one of the best things for your back when you book in for a treatment with us! 
 
Reference:
Furlan, A. D., Imamura, M., Dryden, T., & Irvin, E. (2008). Massage for low-back pain.Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 4(4).

​Caring for lower back pain

How Much Sleep Should You Get:
Most of us need between 7 – 9 hours’ sleep a night. Too much of too little starts to impact our functioning. Don’t think that catching up during the weekend will do the trick either. It won’t. If that seems unachievable for you right now, work towards mini goals i.e. try and get 7 hours of sleep 3 nights a week, building up as your body adapts.

• Use black-out curtains or in red / oranges tones
• Clocks and kids night lights should have red lights (not blue or white)
• If you find yourself checking the clock all the time, turn it around so you can’t see it and trust the alarm.  Watching the clock will not make you sleep better!
• Start to wind down 1 hour before sleep – try and warm bath, meditation, reading an easy to read book.
• Avoid eating 2 hours before bed
• Try foods with high melatonin such as tart cherry juice or bananas.  This doesn’t work for everyone, but research suggests regular use can assist in sleep.
• If you really can’t sleep, leave the room for 20mins or so and do something really boring until you start to feel sleepy again.

If you are still struggling seek advice from your medical practitioner to get on top of it.

​Causes
Aside from the obvious causes like a hard tackle at rugby or catching the edge of the pathway (we’ve all done it), if you are having recurrent sprain/strains it could be a sign of something not working right up or down the chain.  For example, it is not unusual to see people with recurrent ankle sprains to have a twist in their pelvis which is having an effect on how they walk.  Don’t just assume it’s a dodgy ankle…it could be your hip or knee that’s the problem, so it’s well worth getting it checked out.
 
Treatment
Unfortunately tendons and ligaments have poor blood supply, meaning recovery takes longer than it would if you had just broken a bone.  Hard to believe huh!  The risk of reinjuring the site is high within the first 12 months, so it is important to seek a good treatment plan to appropriately manage your recovery.  Treatments typically involve lymphatic drainage to remove excess swelling, exercises to build up strength and stability, and musculoskeletal work to remove compensatory patterns.  If you have had a complete tear you will know about it and will most likely seek medical intervention which may require surgery.  You will still require on-going support post-surgery to ensure full recovery.

Once identified as an inflammatory condition tennis elbow is now recognised as a complex process, of which inflammation is just its beginning stage. Contributing factors include faulty biomechanics of the cervical and thoracic spine, shoulder, elbow and wrist joints; occlusion of the radial nerve; and a mechanical overloading of the common forearm extensor tendon (specifically extensor carpi radialis brevis).

In light of this, it is not enough to simply rub the area that is sore. This can be a difficult condition to treat and extremely painful so it’s important you have therapists, like the team at Vital Body, with an advanced knowledge of this condition who know how to treat it effectively. If you are suffering from tennis elbow or know someone that is, share this information with them or book a session with us to get it sorted.​

Vitality Tips - Caring for Tennis Elbow