Always feel at ease visiting for my back to be repositioned, and walk out feeling amazing.
S.C., Leamington Spa
Learn MoreI have tried everything else over the years for back and neck pain - nothing was as effective as Osteo by Jane. It is always holistic. Jane always looks at the "whole picture" and gives appropriate advice and treatment. At least I am pain free in my back and can get on with living.
Private
Learn MoreI love playing my sport and would not be fit to continue to play without expert osteopathic treatment from the Practice since 1998. Jane and Neil have managed my back condition not only through treatment but lots of advice on lifestyle do’s and don’ts to prolong my mobility, always with the message that one day I will need surgery. Sure enough the day came in 2013 when Jane said “I think it would be a good idea for you to see a surgeon” and with her encouragement and support I had the spinal surgery, was out of sport for a year, and happily to say I am back playing better than ever. I am so grateful to Jane and Neil for all their treatments, care and kindnesses in getting me to where I am today.
Ms C.B., Leamington
Learn MoreJane is great because she doesn't just 'crunch' my back. She is really knowledgeable about all aspects of lifestyle and health, and with treatments like acupuncture she treats the whole self, not just the bit that hurts.
Mrs S.H., Leamington
Learn More10 years ago I visited my GP, I had hurt my back, I didn’t want to take pills and asked my GP if he knew someone who could manipulate my back. He told me to go to try Jane O’Connor’s practice.
M.A.B., Leamington Spa
Learn MoreJane & Neil are fantastic! My back pain was terrible and through massage, manipulation and acupuncture it was alleviated almost immediately. Their professional and friendly approach helped me feel better too. I would highly recommend The Osteopathic Practice.
K.R. Leamington Spa
Learn MoreAfter what seemed a lifetime of back pain, my Pilates teacher recommended Jane - I am now getting my life back - my only regret is that I didnt come here years ago.
J.S., Warwick
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The Fear of Back Pain
You are going along perfectly happily and then, suddenly, you’re in acute pain – it stops you in your tracks – you can hardly speak!
Over the next couple of weeks, the pain gradually subsides, although a couple of times you do something silly and it catches you again – agony! This happens once or maybe twice a year, without warning, but you never see a doctor or seek any medical advice or treatment. Why? Because you’ve accidentally just bitten your tongue while talking or eating. It happens to almost everybody at some time or other.
The resulting swelling on your tongue or inside cheek feels like a golf ball in your mouth and you are aware of soreness all the time, but on closer inspection, in a mirror or with a finger, there is almost nothing to see or feel at all. How can such a tiny sore create so much pain and feel so large in your mouth? How can it ever heal when it constantly catches or chafes when you eat and talk? But it does heal, and we all know that accidents happen: we will be sore for a few days or weeks, then it will heal on its own, or with a simple antiseptic gel or mouthwash. We accept that there is nothing ‘wrong’ with our mouth, we just didn’t coordinate everything properly while chewing or talking – it just happens sometimes.
So why is there so much fear about a similar incidence of back pain?
Occasionally, the joint capsule or synovium, or a small muscle fibre can get pinched, pulled or caught. It just didn’t coordinate properly when making a sudden or unprepared movement. It can be acutely painful and feel as if something huge is blocking the joint, although there is nothing to see on an Xray or scan. It is acutely painful, but improves over a few days to totally recover within a week or two. It might occur once or twice a year and be perfectly normal the rest of the time. A story that seems remarkably similar to biting your own tongue.
The inside of the small facet joints of the spine and the inside of the mouth are not so dissimilar, they are both highly sensitive (especially to pain), have a good blood supply (can become inflamed if injured), and have to finely coordinate hundreds of micro-movements to allow everything to glide relative to each other without pinching or straining. Occasionally, the coordination isn’t perfect, and we accidentally pinch the synovium or capsule of the facet joint, or knee, or shoulder – or we bite our tongue or the inside of our cheek. Both are very painful, both heal fairly quickly, both needing a little care and thought in how we function while they heal.
If a mouth ulcer doesn’t heal, gets larger, or starts to bleed, or if a back pain causes other, remote symptoms or fails to recover within a week or so, then investigation and intervention may be needed. If you constantly keep biting your tongue, or the back repeatedly goes into spasm, further investigation would be necessary to find the cause. The majority of the time, they are simply minor accidents of poor coordination; isolated incidents, a painful nuisance, and certainly nothing to be worried about.
Part of my job as an Osteopath is to remove the fear and apprehension following acute back pain and to encourage a speedy return to normal activity and exercise.
I have the luxury of treatment time, to explain the cause of the pain and so allay a patient’s anxiety; to empower them to take control of their spine and not let their fear of pain limit their potential.
Yes, you bit your tongue, it’s painful, but you don’t stop eating or talking – you know it will heal.
Yes, you injured your facet joint, it’s painful, but you don’t stop walking or moving about – you know it will heal.
I find this analogy of biting your own tongue and not being frightened of it helpful in understanding that the body sometimes just gets it wrong, and minor injuries can – and do, randomly occur. It’s a nuisance, it’s painful – but it’s harmless!
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