Starting over...

Well that was a slightly longer break from this blog than I envisaged back in 2010. I was hoping and planning to keep up to date with the planning, developing and finally building the new practice on Harberson road in Balham. That is all behind us now and we have been in the new premises and working for over a year now.

With that in mind it may seem strange to be thinking about starting over but this past year has been particularly trying in a number of ways, not least due to a slow and steady deterioration in my own health. I've always regarded myself as someone who was pretty fit and reasonably healthy, I compete in triathlons a couple of times a year, ride my bike regularly and generally enjoy exercise. So when I started to collect colds and coughs and the occasional niggly sore throat at the back end of last year little did I realise I would be sitting here attempting to make sense of the last ten to eleven months. Yet here I am hopefully at the start of a slow recovery, although I've had a couple of false dawns already, from what appears to be some form of chronic fatigue or immune compromise that has left me struggling to climb two flights of stairs at times.

Whilst recognising that this is a little self indulgent I hope to use my recent experience to gain an understanding of what I regard as health and it's true meaning for many of us. Thankfully I have a supportive close family and understanding G.P. But when it comes down to it it is pretty much up to me to work out a way through this so I can get back to doing the things I want to.

I'm hoping to use this blog to chart my progress but then again it may just be a way of helping me understand how and why this type of thing happens and what if anything the individual can do about it and what sort of help is out there.

Osteopathy and migraine

On Thursday of last week I spent a very informative and enjoyable day at a symposium organised by the City of London Migraine Clinic - www.migraineclinic.org.uk - The subject was the link between female hormone cycles and migraine. Now as one of my patients asked "what can you do about that as an Osteopath?", which I found a little difficult to answer at first. However after spending the day with the doctors and nurses at the lectures it struck me that whilst osteopaths are not in a position to treat hormonal related migraine we do have a lot to offer in treating the huge number of cases of migraine where hormonal changes only play a small part.

The medical approach is very much linked to the use of drugs to control oestrogen levels, thus preventing the shifts in balance that can trigger the migraine attack. However the main point was that it was not overly high or overly low oestrogen levels that cause the headache, rather the individuals susceptibility to change that was of greater importance. The complexity of the individual and what led to their fine tolerance was not explored deeply but as an osteopath I would like to see further exploration of this area. Using the concept that the body is a self-regulating mechanism this would suggest that the body's attention is elsewhere or that the individual is dealing with significant other challenges making them more vulnerable to migraine attack. By identifying those risk factors, lifestyle, diet, stress etc we can maybe make a change for the better and increase the individual tolerance to tiny changes.

Let me know what you think..

Philip

New Blog

Welcome to the Balham Osteopathic Practice blog, we hope to use the blog to keep you up to date with new developments at the clinic and also events affecting the the complex and ever changing world of osteopathy in general.

Each week to two weeks we will add information, news and links to articles of interest and also answer queries that arise from them. If you want to contact us email osteopath@balham-osteopathic.co.uk phone 020 8673 0504 or visit the website www.balham-osteopathic.co.uk

We hope you enjoy the blog.