Happy Christmas

As we approach the end of an eventful year, we’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas🎄 It may not be the Christmas we are use to and the year may have been filled with ups, downs, sorrows and uncertainties, but we encourage you not to give up hope. Put positive energy into the decisions you make and the things you have control over, such as your health and actions towards each other. Here's wishing for a better 2021 🙏🏾.
One Love ❤️

injury Therapy Pro

Our COVID-19 Protocol

We know it’s been a long time, and we’ve missed you too. Our remote Telehealth consultations have been a success and will remain in place, but we are finally back and able to see you in person at our Liverpool St clinic from 1st June 2020. Bookings can be made online.

For all of our safety we have implemented stringent infection control procedures as follows:

• A COVID-19 screening form must be completed prior to your visit. This will be sent in your appointment confirmation email.

• If you have had a positive diagnosis for COVID-19, are showing symptoms or are self-isolating, you must be symptom free for 14 days before visiting us. However a remote consultation would be suitable for you.

• For social distancing purposes, when you attend the clinic please come alone (unless pre-arranged and necessary) and arrive no more than 5 minutes early to avoid cross over. You may be politely asked to come back if you arrive too early.

• As always please dress or bring clothing suitable for examination and treatment of the required area. We cannot provide shorts.

• Please avoid bringing lots of luggage and baggage with you.

• Advance payment with your booking is required to minimise contact with cash and cards in the clinic. (Other forms of payment are still accepted).

• We have removed the use of linen so surfaces can easily be cleaned and have replaced them with wipeable covers where possible.

On Arrival

• Press the ‘Ring’ bell on arrival.

• Wash your hands in the bathroom for at least 20 seconds with the soap provided BEFORE coming into the treatment room. Hand sanitiser will also be available.

• Please bring and wear a mask. A disposable mask will be provided if you do not have one.

• Your temperature and blood oxygen levels will be taken before the treatment begins.

Treatment

• We will be wearing full PPE during the appointment which will be replaced after each treatment.

• We will require you to keep your mask on throughout the treatment.

• By the nature of our treatments a 2 metre distance cannot be observed between patient and practitioner.

• Techniques and therapies may be adjusted where suitable to reduce AGP’s (Aerosol Generating Procedures). As always an explanation will be given and your consent gained with everything that is done.

• Please wash your hands again before leaving the clinic.

Cleaning

• Regular deep cleaning of the clinic will take place.

• Cleaning of the treatment rooms, couches, equipment, and surfaces will take place between each appointment.

• Airing of the clinic rooms between treatment days.

All of the above is very straight forward but please do let us know before your appointment if you have any questions or concerns.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thoughts on the Coronavirus

What a historic time we’re living in, and not only in relation to the coronavirus . There is an overwhelming amount of news, opinions and advice going around and it can very easily be confusing and worrying. Hopefully without adding to any confusion, here is our contribution. A viewpoint we haven’t heard much about in the media.

Two of the four osteopathic principles state as follows:

1. The body is a unit. The whole, being greater than the sum of its parts and every part inter-relating and affecting all other parts.

2. The body is it’s own medicine chest. We are robust human beings designed with the inherent ability to adapt and heal ourselves.

With the current events and keeping the two above principles in mind, I would like to emphasise the importance of taking charge of the things we DO have control over which can make a difference; such as our hygiene and health.

A strong and healthy immune system is key to being able to ward off and fight any illnesses and diseases that try to take hold. We have the ability to support our internal medicine chest by looking after several aspects of the body to make it stronger as a whole. Here are some of those areas and ideas of what we can do.

Mind/Mental:

Sustained stress, anxiety, worry and negativity prolongs cortisol release and creates an imbalanced internal environment that drains the immune system and detracts from promoting health.

Body/Physical:

As we commonly say, “Movement is life”. Regular movement is vital. Whether it is walking, playing a sport or anything in between. Breathing, raising the heart rate moving your joints improves your lung function, oxygenates your blood and improves your circulation delivering that blood around the body.

Diet/Nutrition:

Poor food and drink choices promote inflammation in our bodies, as well as bloating, fatigue, cravings, pains and dis-ease. This leaves us susceptible to illness. Good food and drink choices nourishes our bodies and our immune system. It promotes good gut health, makes us feel good and function well.

Sleep:

Sleep is where we rest, digest, recover and restore. It’s SO important to get good quality sleep for multitude of reasons. We all know that when we are well rested we feel great and are more productive. During sleep our immune system will be able to restore too.

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What can we do?

Switch off from the news! It’s negative. You can keep abreast of things without seeing, hearing and reading about them every 15 minutes. It only creates fear, anxiety and worry, and that won’t change what’s happening around you, but it will decrease your body’s resilience.

Spend time with your loved ones, family and friends. They’re likely to be the ones that can bond with you and support you, and that you can laugh, be happy and feel good with.

Move. Stand up, sit down, roll on the floor, go for a walk, take the stairs, go to the next bus stop, stretch, breathe deeply and play. You will feel better for doing so.

Avoid sugar, sugary foods/drinks, processed foods and alcohol. Support your immune system by eating pure, non-processed food, fruit and vegetables. Vitamins A, C and D are great for the immune system. There are a surprising number of us that are vitamin D deficient! Drink plenty of water daily - this is very important.

Go to bed early enough to get 8 hours of sleep. Routinely go to bed/wake up at the same time daily. Avoid eating late (3 hrs before bed) and avoid stimulants such as coffee (8hrs before bed). Try to switch off televisions, computers, phones and bright lights a while before going to bed. Meditate, have a bath, read or listen to music to relax yourself in preparation for sleep, and sleep in a darkened bedroom.

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This isn’t an exhaustive list and shouldn’t be too difficult to implement. Being consistent is important and you’ll really feel the difference. Ideally this should become your norm.

It goes without saying that cleanliness and hygiene should already be an established part of your life and so just be more aware of this as you go about your day.

Of course we must heed the government advice and protocols relating to COVID-19 which can be found here. All of the above will also greatly benefit us. We must take an active role in our own health. Please post any questions or comments below.

Yours in health,

Injury Therapy Pro

Diagnostic Imaging

Here at Injury Therapy Pro we have fast access to a variety of imaging options that may assist in getting to the bottom of your problem.

X-Ray’s, MRI’s, CT’s, Ultrasound’s, DEXA scans and more. We can arrange speedy appointments at great rates with very little effort needed from the patient.

Imaging is only part of the picture! Just because something does or doesn’t show on a scan doesn’t mean it’s definitive. This is important. We have a skilled team who are able to read scans and most importantly, correlate them to clinical examinations we do with you in person to ascertain what is relevant.

This combination has very often lead to findings that have been missed in the past because it is rare that the same person who interprets the images on your scan will also examine you.

For more information about diagnostic imaging and what might be suitable for you, please get in touch.

What is Shockwave Therapy?

Don’t be put off by the name. Shockwave Therapy is an innovative and highly effective treatment for chronic pain. It uses pressure pulses, or acoustic waves, that expand in the body and stimulate blood vessel and nerve growth to help heal and regenerate tissue.

Shockwave Therapy is used more and more within elite sport and is a safe and highly researched modality for treating amongst other things, common conditions such as: plantar fasciitis, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, achilles tendinopathy, shin splints, knee pain, arthritis, rotator cuff injuries and hamstring tendinopathies.

If you’re suffering from acute or long-standing, persistent conditions, shockwave therapy may be the ideal treatment to relieve pain, restore mobility and speed up recovery time. Treatments are quick and non-invasive. Why not contact our osteopathy and rehabilitation injury experts in London today to find out how we can help you.

Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings

From Injury Therapy Pro

We would like to wish everyone a very happy festive season as we head into 2020.

We will be having a few days off but will be open over the festive season so if you are looking for Osteopathy in London then we will still be available to help.

We will be closed on the following dates:

24/12/2019 25/12/2019 26/12/2019

31/12/2019 01/01/2020 02/01/2020

Other than these dates we will be open as usual for all of your osteopathy and treatment needs.

Free Osteopathy Consultations in London!

Where did the summer go? August has gone and the holidays are over as autumn officially arrives. Schools and universities will be heading back for another year of study and you’ll gradually start to notice the evenings getting shorter.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Injury Therapy Pro are offering free Osteopathy consultations in London throughout the month of September to allow you to address all those injuries and niggles that you’ve been ignoring.

Sometimes just understanding what a pain or discomfort is and that it can be managed, can make a huge difference to our lives… and throughout September it’ll be free.

Due to popular demand and the value you’ve found in these consultations, we have decided to extend the duration of this offer 🙂

Esprit Concrete - Movement to Empower

Injury Therapy Pro and Esprit Concrete are working together to deliver an integrated approach to health, wellness, therapy and movement. The mind and the body do not work in isolation. Issues affecting one, can manifest themselves in the other, whether positive or negative, therefore effecting our structure, function, performance, and progression in all areas of life.

Our unique collaboration addresses physical and mental restrictions, imbalances, injuries, acute/chronic pain, and barriers to healing using CBT, Psychology, Osteopathy, Mindfulness and Parkour. 

How can this help you? In more ways than you may realise. As an extension to our clinic's holistic approach, Esprit Concrete's structured classes and sessions allow for personal development through identifying aspects of ones psychological, physical and emotional states. The participant gains a deeper understanding of themselves and works on elements through movement, self-reflection and Parkour. 

We are made to move. Movement is life. Yet modern city lifestyles today often inhibit this. We cannot recommend Esprit Concrete's sessions highly enough, and regular attendees receive 20% off follow up treatments at Injury Therapy Pro. Please see their website for more information.

Gift Vouchers Now Available!!

Tis the season to be jolly... The truth is many people often find this time of year rather stressful with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years sales. We at Injury Therapy Pro believe that we have the answer to one of the most difficult and commonly asked questions at this time of year...

"What do I get the person who has everything?"

Well Look no further - Injury Therapy Pro Treatment Gift Vouchers. Health is wealth! And contributing to someones wellbeing surpasses monetary value or objects of desire. Vouchers are available as 30, 45 and 60 minute treatments and can also be bought in discounted blocks of 5. Perfect for the friend or family member who needs a kickstart to health, the person with that longstanding, niggling pain that has never been looked at, or those who are active (maybe training for a marathon) and don't understand the importance of rest and recovery. Either way it is the perfect gift.

To purchase, please visit our online store. Or should you have any inquiries please contact us using any of the details here. Once purchased the gift voucher can either be sent to you directly, or to the recipient, who can then book their treatment online at a time that's convenient for them.

Et voila, Merry Christmas.

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Backcare Awareness Week 2016!

An excuse to move

It always seems to be a bit of a novelty when the sun appears in London. People often don't know what to do. Panic food buying, spontaneous BBQ's, crazy drivers, bikers, people stripping off, music blaring and flowing alcohol. 

Those are my impressions at least. Well I made use of the weekends good weather, (aside from working) as an excuse to get out into nature, away from the city, to smell the flowers, stretch my body and move as we were made to. Vitamin D, endorphin release, muscle, heart and lung activation - the perfect recipe for mind body and soul 😊 

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New EC1 Clinic Opening Soon...

Exciting times are approaching for Injury Therapy Pro as we prepare to move to our new EC1 Clinic and Rehabilitation Space. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more information and special offers coming your way very soon.

The Light Princess

The curtains close on another fantastic show. If you didn't get to see this, you really missed out on something special. Beautiful music, creativity and absolutely stunning performances. It's been great working with another amazing team of people, Nick Hendrix, Rosalie Craig, Owain Gwynn, Tommy Luther, Nuno Silva and all the others. I'm definitely going to miss you all, but I'm sure we'll work together again soon. :-)

Osteoarthritis AND Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis is a very familiar word to the majority of the population and often, an easy go to self diagnosis that is happily adopted by many. Osteoarthritis (OA) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in fact are two common but very different types of arthritis. 

OA is also known as the condition of 'wear, tear, and repair' as it's primary cause is a natural breakdown of cartilage and subchondral bone. This is why it is more common in the elderly. 

RA on the other hand is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune condition. Meaning that a person is predisposed to the condition for reasons such as genetic factors and blood markers. This means that it can come on much earlier in life. 

I have created a couple of diagrams to show the major associated factors with the two conditions to help compare and contrast. 

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Medical Acupuncture - A Layman's explanation.

I am always asked what happens during medical acupuncture. Explaining the processes that occur physiologically during medical acupuncture and the benefits thereof can be quite a task. Mainly because of the complexities of the human body and the depth of knowledge required to understand.

Of course this doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. So here is my attempt for the lay person in 5 steps.

1. Local Nutrition - local to the placement site of the needle, the skin can often be seen to be red. This is because of increased blood flow to the area. Blood carries fresh nutrients that soft tissues such as muscles need. As fresh blood comes in, stale blood must leave which carries away with it waste products from the muscle.

2. Segmental - All areas of skin transmit sensory information to the brain via nerves. The nerves from each area travel to the spinal cord and enter at different segmental levels. When a needle is inserted, the nerve that innervates that area is stimulated. Because of this, the other areas supplied by that same nerve also benefit from its stimulation.

3. Extra Segmental - The stimulated nerve travels to the brain and triggers the release of many positive hormones into the body. These are things such as the bodies natural pain killers, stress relieving and feel good hormones.  Areas outside of the stimulated nerve distribution are affected by this.

4. Global - The body is the sum of its parts. The mind and the body are interconnected and therefore the previous processes contribute to having a global effect on the body. A central regulatory effect occurs by various structures of the brain that are also stimulated. This includes the Limbic system which has an affect on emotions, behaviour, motivation and memory.

5. Trigger Point Release - Many of you would have heard me talk about trigger points before. Physically inserting a needle into a trigger point will aid in its release. This is often where the twitch response occurs. Deactivating its sustained contraction allows for better functionality of the muscle, it reduces the stress on other muscles working to support it, allows the associated structures to move freely, increasing their range of movement and reduces local and referred pain.

Electro-Acupuncture is often used in more chronic cases. This has an increased effect on all the processes mentioned above. The gentle current placed through the needles induces the twitch response and better enables muscle relaxation and vascularisation of the area.

  Acupuncture to the upper arm

Acupuncture to the lower back

Yours truly... Yes I always practice what I preach and don't perform any method of treatment that I don't believe works or that I haven't had done to myself. :-) 

The Importance of Sleep

Sleep is arguably the most important behavioural experience that we have. On average we spend about 36% of our lives asleep. That's 32 years of a 90 year life spent sleeping!*

It varies from place to place but generally sleep is not placed very high up on the list of life's priorities. There is a culture and feeling that whilst we are asleep we are missing out on all the wonderful things of life. Many even quote the phrase 'I'll have plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead!' If we are sleeping we are not eating, we are not drinking, we are not watching the football or in the gym, not making money (although some are, I guess they'll sleep well) we are not on Facebook, Twitter or engaging in relationships (having sex). We are disconnected from the world. So as we are missing out on all this 'stuff' the tendency is to grab a bit of sleep as needed and get on with all the other bits.

As you can imagine this is NOT GOOD. Sleep IS important, incredibly important and complicated! But why do we do it? The brain doesn't ever shut down, even whilst asleep, and it could be argued is sometimes more active during sleep.

*Intuitive restoration - R&R. We intuitively know when we need to rest and repair. Ultimately we can't avoid it without consequence. There are genes associated with restoration and metabolic pathways that are turned on during sleep.

*Brain processing and memory consolidation
The ability to learn a task, to process and remember things, greatly diminishes with lack of sleep. 
This obviously includes the laying down of memory and recalling it by making neural connections.
With sleep we are more able to come up with novel solutions to complex problems. Those new important neurosynaptic connections are strengthened whereas the less important ones fade away.

Sleep is not an indulgence! It is a necessity and we as a society are sleep deprived. This means more than just being tired throughout our day.
- Teenagers need 9 hours per night for full brain performance
- The ability to sleep in a single block diminishes with the aged, but the required amount of sleep does not. So although more fragmented, the elderly still need just as much sleep.
- The body clock does not change with night shift work which means the quality of sleep is often poor as the body thinks it should be awake when you need to sleep.

And so, some of the effects of sleep deprivation are:

Danger!
The brain indulges in micro sleeps if it needs it. Which means an increased risk of accidents. Hence falling asleep at the wheel through sleep deprivation and RTA's through tiredness, poor vigilance and poor judgement and reduced responsiveness.

Weight gain.
If your sleep is reduced by 5 hours per night there is a 50% chance of becoming obese. Sleep deprivation gives rise to the hunger hormone ghrelin. The brain says 'I need carbs' and sugars to stay awake and therefore one is more likely to eat things that will increase fat stores.

Stress!
Tired people are stressed people. One of the effects of which is memory loss. The problems arise when there is sustained stress associated with sleep loss. This can lead to suppressed immunity, increasing tired peoples overall risk of infection. Increased stress often means glucose becomes a dominant part of the vasculature predisposing people to glucose intolerance and therefore diabetes type II.
Increases Cardiovascular disease as a result of increased blood pressure. It is commonly known that stress is a broad term and it's multifaceted contributors can lead to systemic diseases such as cancers.

Reduced productivity
Whether at work or otherwise, productivity can be reduced with sleep deprivation in many ways. Forgetfulness, poor creativity, poor memory, increased impulsiveness and poor concentration.

Tired brains crave stimulants. Junk food, caffeine, nicotine and various drugs. In whatever form, it must be remembered that there is no replacement for sleep. This often has health implications and as any stimulant wears off, it is usually followed by a low period. In turn when one is wired due to stimulants and then needs to sleep there is often a tendency to turn to things such as alcohol, which does not induce sleep! Alcohol sedates you. This means that the neural processes that occur during proper sleep.. Restoration, repair, memory and recall.. are harmed. Alcoholism also affects cerebellar brain function - cognition, gait, ataxia, speech and vision to name some. I could write a whole blog on alcoholism.

Are you getting enough sleep?

Do you:
Need an alarm clock to get up?
Feel grumpy and groggy in the mornings?
Take a long time to stir?
Need stimulants. Caffeine etc to get you going and/or keep you going?
Look and feel tired and irritable?

If your answers to the above are yes, then it is likely that you are sleep deprived. Research shows that Mental illness and sleep are physically linked within the brain. Those neural connections that cause normal sleep cross over with those that cause mental illness. Evidence shows that genes that cause normal sleep, when mutated predispose people to mental illness. A gene linked to pschitophrenia when mutated also smashes sleep which is evidence of a link. Sleep disruption is always present in severe mental illness.

So how can we sleep better?
Understand the importance of sleep and push it up your list of priorities.
Realise that it will make the moments that you are awake more productive, creative, efficient, safe and enjoyable.
Regulate your sleep. Aim to go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time the following day. You'll soon find that your body clock knows this pattern and you'll wake feeling rested and energised without the need for an alarm.
Avoid having caffeine too late in the day.
Wind down before bed and reduce brain stimulation/activity such as light exposure, computers, mobile phones, television and loud noise.
Make your place of rest as comfortable, dark and snug as possible - a sleep haven.
Seek out morning light. Light exposure in the morning is good to help set the biological clock to the light / dark cycle.

We are extremely well designed intuitive human beings. The body has its own medicine chest containing all it needs for healing and homeostasis. Sleep is one of these mechanisms. Embrace and enjoy it, you will  without a doubt feel the benefits.

*Adapted from Russell Foster - The neuroscience of sleep.

Bye Bye Chorus Line

Last treatments today for the fabulously talented cast of A Chorus Line at the London Palladium. A sad moment for all but such a great atmosphere and they all made it through without any major injuries. You are a fantastic bunch! I loved working with you all. Thanks for the card and bubbly. Happy to be of assistance.

Move Nautral

Crawl, balance, jump. Do the fundamental movements. Explore your true nature, empower your human nature. Do something that is real. Do something that is natural and grounded. Connect with the nature within, connect with nature outside. There is magic that happens when you let the body recapture its original intelligence. - Erwan Le Corre

New Year, New You?

As January 2020 takes us into a new year and a new decade the promise of a better, healthier lifestyle tempts us off the sofa and out of our comfort zone.

But before we begin we should assess how that might affect our body. Don’t let the niggles of last year interrupt your good intentions or chances of success.

We’ve already seen a trend of eager resolutions hit their first hurdle from going too hard, too soon or ignoring past issues.

Injury Therapy Pro can help you put your best foot forward, to manage your new movement manifesto, and guide you to your goals in a safe and achievable way.