Osteopathic treatment of older people aims to help maintain mobility, ease aches and pains as far as possible and promote well-being. The body can be likened to a car, needing regular service and maintenance, especially with age. M.O.T. Maintenance Osteopathic Treatment can help.
Retirement can bring added time for leisure, travel and other interests and activities that you never had time for while you were working and raising a family. You may take up activities such as gardening, golf, bowling, tennis, badminton and fitness classes, etc. You may be in a position to help your working children by caring for your grandchildren. To make the most of these opportunities you ideally want your body to support you in your new life.
Common Problems:
Accidents, Strains and other Trauma
Most people suffer trauma at some point in their life, such as falls, car accidents or sporting injuries. Often people do not think they have injured themselves at the time, but to the trained hands of an osteopath the effects of these accident are often palpable years later as a continuing strain within the body tissues. This can make the joints more vulnerable to arthritic changes, and cause undue fatigue because more energy is used in simple everyday tasks.
Falls are more likely as we get older. With increasing age, the body tissues lose some of their flexibility and elasticity and do not recover as quickly from trauma. This imparts lasting strains in the body, which can not only aggravate existing problems, but also predispose to others.
Osteopathic treatment can be effective at releasing the residual strains from accidents, both recent and long ago. This allows the body to function more efficiently. Patients often report an improvement in pain or other symptoms.
Osteoarthritis
This is the most common symptom of getting older. It can occur in many of the joints in the body, while some joints such as the hips and knees are more vulnerable than others. Signs and symptoms include enlargement and persistent swelling of a joint, aching, pain and stiffness, worse on initially moving a joint after resting, increased pain and swelling if the joint is overused. Arthritis can affect any joint in the body, but the back, hips and knees are some of the most debilitating.
Osteopathic treatment improves circulation around the joint and improves mobility. Treatment to ease old strains held within the body will enable the joints to work in a more balanced fashion and with greater ease, and often delays the need for replacement surgery. If replacement surgery is finally needed, the body tissues are generally in better health and the recovery is faster. Treatment after surgery can also help to reduce recovery time.
Keeping Healthy – how Osteopathy can help:
Osteopaths treat the whole person not just conditions, so a wide variety of different problems can be helped. Treatment is aimed at releasing stresses and strains that may have accumulated in the body over many years. Our body’s capacity to compensate for these issues is what keeps us going over the years. When there are too many issues for the body to compensate for, it starts to give signs of discomfort. Treatment and advice will be given to help improve mobility, circulation and immune function and reduce joint stiffness to aid a full and active life. Treatment is usually gentle and aims to maintain health and prevent further injury. Dietary advice may also be given to help maintain healthy bones and joints.
Staying Active:
- Gentle stretching daily to help maintain tissue elasticity and joint mobility. Yoga can be a great help.
- Walk regularly to keep circulation healthy and maintain muscle tone.
- Rest to recover energy for the rest of the daily activities.
- Wear trainers or similar to reduce strain on knee and hip joints and reduce back pain when walking on hard surfaces.
We are happy to advise you on your health matters and offer a free 15 minute joint and spinal check, without obligation.
Lin Bridgeford DO KFRP MICAK MICRA FSCCO MSc
Registered Osteopath & Kinesiologist & Senior Yoga Teacher
Master Hypnosis and NLP Practitioner
Aether Bios Clinic
Saltdean
01273 309557
07710 227038
