Acute/recent strains and injuries

Pain from a recent strain or injury or sometimes for no apparent reason, can be mild, moderate or severe depending on the nature of the condition. It is always a good idea to have it investigated by a medical practitioner if it’s severe for whatever reason. Once the symptoms have calmed down it should be clearer to see what is going on.

The length of time acute pain lasts

This will depend on the severity of the strain or injury. In most cases the severity of the pain will be reduced in 72 hours (the inflammatory period). After this period, the pain experienced in mild cases will have almost disappeared, even though the pain felt awful initially. In the acute stage it can be difficult to fully understand what is going on, so you may well be advised to follow the following rule: (P.R.I.C.E) Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation of the affected area until the symptoms have eased.

Rehabilitation

Once the symptoms of pain have eased, it is a good idea to encourage gentle movement in the affected area. At various stages within the healing process, greater movement will be encouraged to prevent tightening. In the leg, for example, after P.R.I.C.E and gentle movements, you would be encouraged to do weight-bearing exercise such as varied walking e.g. forwards, backwards, to the side and in a figure of eight circuit, to improve your co-ordination, and finally building strength into the affected area for a return to your chosen activities.

Why treatment may be necessary

Following a strain or injury it is possible that you could be more susceptible to the same complaint recurring, even if you have followed strict rehabilitation guide lines. This is because the body will lay down scar tissue in response to a strain or injury. This results in binding down of adjacent layers of soft tissues, and a gluing down of the nerves, muscle and joints.

What treatment can do for you

When nerves, which are designed to glide through soft tissues, become bound down, the following symptoms often occur: pain on movement, muscle cramps and tightening of muscles or muscle spasm. When muscles tighten or go into spasm the joint surfaces close up and become stiffer. The result can be long-term pain, stiffness and an increased risk of re-injury.

Unresolved pain, strain and injury

Conditions which have not been eased by other forms of treatment, may be significantly improved with VJ Barnes Osteopathy. The aim here is to make a diagnosis based on a detailed medical history, including how the complaint first developed, its duration and what prior tests and scans have been carried out. After this a suitable treatment approach can be implemented.

To prevent your injury becoming a recurring problem you should have the injury investigated by a suitable osteopath.

The VJ Barnes Clinic has many years experience of successfully treating these conditions with osteopathy.

If you are a keen on sports: running, football or spending time at the gym perhaps, sports injuries not only cause discomfort and pain, but can be very frustrating! There’s nothing worse than being held back from training for that big race, or not being able to join your friends for a kick-about.

Serious sports injuries such as fractures, complete tears of tendons or ligaments or severe bruising and neurological trauma should of course be dealt with by an A&E department of a hospital. However, for more general sports injuries such as sprains, pains, stiff and over-exercised muscles, osteopathy treatment can prove an effective and suitable alternative to traditional physiotherapy.

Osteopathy treatment for sports injuries would normally include soft tissue manipulation and articulation of the affected area. Together with a tailored exercise program an osteopathic approach can aid rehabilitation of many sports injuries that have not responded to other treatments.

With many years of sports injury management treatment experience and having trained at the National Sports Medical Institute, Vincent is ideally positioned to help you with your sports injury, whatever that may be. His osteopathy practice is based in Beckenham, Kent and is ideally placed for clients in Beckenham, Bromley and across South London and Kent.

Why do babies see osteopaths for treatment?

Babies often present with the following set of symptoms:

It is believed that these symptoms occur because the child becomes stressed during the birthing process, which can take many hours to complete. The result is a set of symptoms probably similar to those of an adult under significant stress.

How and why do you treat babies?

Babies, as already stated, can get stressed when the mother is in labour, especially when delivered by forceps or suction. Tension in the muscles and covering soft tissues of the head, neck and abdomen can occur.

Cranial osteopathy

With the use of gentle soft-tissue release techniques, including cranial osteopathy, these tissues relax and the baby returns to normal within two to three sessions. The alternative is months of unnecessary stress and anguish for the parents.

Cranial Osteopaths, Beckenham and Bromley

Before you bring your baby in for cranial osteopathy treatment, you may have questions. Please do call for a chat or to arrange for a treatment. The VJ Barnes Clinic is in Beckenham and is ideally suited for patients in Beckenham, Bromley and South London. There is free and convenient parking to the front of the practice, ideal for bringing your baby into the practice.