Osteopathy for the over 55's

Osteopathy, helping you maintain good health in later life.

As we get older our muscles, bones, ligaments and joints will also age. Ageing alone does not necessarily result in increased pain or stiffness. Some people with age-related pain find that treatment and advice from an Osteopath complements GP care and pharmaceutical products. Osteopathic treatment and advice may help you feel better prepared to continue with, or adapt, your lifestyle as your body changes with time. Osteopathy aims to keep you healthier, allowing you to enjoy the pleasures of life despite the natural ageing process.

People over 55 often have some Osteoarthritis in the spine, as it is a natural ageing process. Osteopaths can considerably help with the pain and symptoms of arthritis and it is not a condition you should just have to put up with. Osteopathic pain relief and lifestyle management can improve the quality of life for arthritis sufferers.

The two most common types of arthritis we see are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis:

• Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint condition sometimes called ‘wear and tear’ which affects the spine, hips, knees, hands and feet.
• Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease, which causes chronic inflammation in the joints throughout the body.

Arthritis may be hereditary but is generally caused by poor posture, heavy manual work and previous injury.

Osteopathy is an effective way to manage arthritis and the associated symptoms which include neck pain, low back pain, joint pain, early morning stiffness, swelling and inflammation, referred pain and reduced mobility.

Osteopathic treatment will not cure your arthritis but will greatly reduce your pain and stiffness, improving mobility and joint movement. Lifestyle advice, and exercises, will also be given to manage the condition to prevent further degeneration and slow down the degenerative process. Another problem with arthritis is not being able to walk comfortably which means you are getting less gentle aerobic exercise. This then affects general health and well being and can place extra strain on the body’s organs.

Osteopaths also work with pain associated with Osteoporosis. It is the aches and pains we are aiming to alleviate, obviously it does not cure the disease itself.