The Fascinating Shoulder

by Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) The shoulder is such an interesting joint, one of the most complex in the body. This joint has to allow the biggest, most dynamic range of movement of any joint in the body whilst still being able to support and stabilise large forces. What’s even more impressive is that the shoulder joint manages to do this with a lot less support from ligaments compared to a joint such as the hip. If the ligament support was too strong then the shoulder would be much less flexible, so this reduced ligament support enables the extreme range of ….continue to the whole article

Bruxism

Bruxism (Teeth Grinding), headaches and neck stiffness By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths Recently we went through a period of time where a lot of people were presenting to the clinic with neck pain and stiffness, and headaches. Often they were waking up with the symptoms in the morning. On further questioning, a lot of these patients had one thing in common, clenching or grinding their teeth. Most of the patients were grinding their teeth at night time and their partners often heard them grinding when they were asleep. A few were also catching themselves doing it during the ….continue to the whole article

Ipad Neck Strain

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths The most prevalent injuries that we Osteopaths treat on a day to day basis, in a way, reflect the society that we live in. These injuries change over time and as lifestyles and technologies develop, so too do new and interesting ways for people to injure themselves. The evolution of the desk based working society undoubtedly has been the primary contributing factor to the prolific rise of low back injuries over the decades. Ask almost anyone who works or has worked at a desk and they will surely report having had some low back ….continue to the whole article

Marathon training and patella tendonitis

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths The arrival of the Spring weather always heralds the start of the Marathon Season. As people prepare for the impending London and Brighton Marathons in April, we are starting to see more and more running related injuries here at Farringdon Osteopaths. Back in 2011 I wrote about about the condition ‘Runners Knee’ and the need to use the delightful foam roller to keep that Ilio-tibial band (ITB) nice and relaxed in order to prevent injury.(click to read) This year we are seeing another type of knee injury quite a lot, patella tendonitis. Patella tendonitis ….continue to the whole article

Seasonal Affective Disorder (The Winter Blues) and Vitamin D

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths It feels like the Winter is already upon us and the clocks are going back soon. Not many people feel happy about the thought. For some people the winter season always brings a slight reduction in energy levels, but for others it is an annual battle with the blues that goes on through to springtime. The condition of being affected by seasonal changes is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and it is extremely common. It results from a deficiency of Vitamin D, a vital hormone whose precursor Vitamin D3 is derived from sunlight exposure. ….continue to the whole article

Ski stretches

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths The Ski season is upon us and for those intending to escape the inevitable London slush to catch some Christmas powder there are some great stretches that could stop you from stiffening up too much after a long day exercising on the slopes. If it has been a year since you last went skiing then you will certainly feel the muscle ache after the first day on the slopes. This is normal. It is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). DOMS occurs because of the sudden increase in demand on the muscles that are ….continue to the whole article

Ice your injury

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths As the winter weather gradually rolls in, the last thing that you may feel like doing is putting ice on your body. When injured, however, this may be exactly what you need. The body’s first response to injury is inflammation. This is a natural and necessary response by the body to injury. It serves to remove any harmful bodies or dead tissue at the injury site. Importantly, it facilitates and activates tissue repair and it prevents further injury. Inflammation can, however, often be extremely painful and disproportionate to the degree of injury. In these ….continue to the whole article

Low back pain in Golfers

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths Each physical activity carries its own set of commonly occurring injuries. This has given rise to a range of syndromes such as “runners knee”, “tennis elbow” and more recently, “x-box thumb”. Even gentle activities such as golf carry with them their own set of risk factors. Any golfer will tell you that low back pain is common place amongst players and this article will outline why it happens and what can be done to prevent it. One of the most common injuries in golf is a strained disc in the low back at the ….continue to the whole article

Gym Classes

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osteopaths The Autumn has arrived and everyone is returning to the normal everyday slog after the Summer holidays. The gym routine that was gladly abandoned for the month of August is resumed once again. For some people this may present an opportunity to undertake a new class or exercise group that you have been thinking about for a while. There are countless classes out there offering various ways to get into shape fast or lose weight. Think about what your goals are and how you like to train. Will you still want to go after ….continue to the whole article

Shin Splints

By Geoffrey Hogan (M.Ost) Farringdon Osetopaths Shin splints is a generic term to describe any pain felt between the knee and the ankle. But what exactly is it and how does it occur? True shin splints is caused by a pulling of the leg muscles on the shin bone. It is felt as a dull ache in the shin that becomes intense on running or walking but that is relieved by rest. The shin is tender to touch but circulation is healthy and there is no muscle weakness, no pins and needles and no numbness in the leg. When the ….continue to the whole article