New year, new you? (and Osteopathy)

A new January a new you? And suddenly, it’s February!

How is that going? 

A new year is a new beginning! It’s a time when we reflect and look forward. We often think about changes we’d like to make in our lives. 

Have you reflected on your health and wellbeing? Health and Mental health have become important topics in the last couple of years. The Pandemic has really focused our attention onto health. We have become more aware of the importance of being well. We are thinking about our lives and what we need to focus on. There is a collective awareness of the importance of this. Perhaps, more than ever, we are thinking about what we eat, how much we exercise, how we manage stress, good quality sleep, our alcohol intake….

So maybe the focus for 2022, should be our health and wellbeing.

We’ve noticed a change in our patients. Our Osteopathic Clinic/clinica di osteopatia, has got much busier.

Why?

Well first of all there is Covid. We have treated many people who have had Covid and helped them to recover after an infection with Osteopathic treatment. Many of our clients have had issues with breathing, tiredness, a lingering cough, joint pain, chest tightness or pain, poor sleep, muscular aches, headaches, and a faster heart rate. Obviously, we are seeing patients who are no longer positive, but the impact of having Covid has affected them. Our treatment addressing the health of the patient as well as functionality of the body, such as the treatment of the ribcage, diaphragm and thoracic spine to improve the mechanics of breathing and also helping to clear a lingering cough. Stiffness and lack of movement when ill can also contribute and add to already existing  aches and pains, Osteopathic treatment can also relieve these symptoms. Osteopathic treatment is relaxing. This can help with improving sleep. Resting well aids recovery and reduces tiredness, it also boosts immunity and helps you get back on your feet!

It’s not just Covid.

The prolonged stress has impacted people’s health too. Anxiety, poor sleep, increased pain, new aches and pains, panic attacks are just some of the symptoms we are seeing increasingly. The effect of stress on the body is well documented, the collective stress of the Pandemic has impacted people. The link between stress and pain is scientifically proven. For example, a typical area of tension and often pain is around the neck and shoulders. When someone feels stress, they tense their shoulders more, this can become uncomfortable and even painful in these areas, it may also lead to headaches. Many people have been “Smart working” and don’t have the right desk or chair (or both) and may be working more and generally moving less, impacting their posture and causing problems often typically around the shoulders and neck. This typical presentation can be relieved and managed with Osteopathic treatment. An Osteopathic treatment will reduce tension in muscles , fascia  and other tissues. Treatment will also increase movement in restricted areas, such as the spine, or the shoulders . Reducing symptoms, affecting levels of pain and increasing movement where there is restriction helps to break the symptom cycle.  Osteopathic treatment its calming impact can reduce feelings of stress and increase a sense of wellbeing reducing the tone in the Sympathetic part of the nervous system   (you flight or flight response) and augmenting the Parasympathetic Nervous system (you relax, feel calm and recover). There is also of course, the usual aches and pains that can reoccur. How we move, sit, stand etc affects our body. We are always helping our regular clients to keep moving with reduced pain. Regular treatment, keeps symptoms at bay, even during this pandemic!