When I show my patients the spikey massage balls, they ask if they are tumble drier balls or dog toys. They often look apprehensive and are initially reluctant to try them. However, it doesn’t take long to convert them to fans of these portable massage tools.
Over the the recent Bank holiday weekends many of our Chislehurst and Sidcup residents have been in the garden, preparing the soil for new plants, digging, weeding, cutting grass, clearing up after the winter and making the most of the extra time off to get on top of the many jobs required to get their gardens summer ready. This has meant more visits to the Osteo & Therapy Hub at Frogpool Manor Farm, Chislehurst to help resolve some aches and pains as a result of their hardwork.
Over 80% of the population experience back pain at some point in their life. In a Gallup poll of 2000 people found that 47% of those reporting back pain felt that gardening was the cause of their pain. This rose to 56% in those people over the age of 35.
I am often asked what the difference is between different manual therapies. I think it is very much a personal preference that is guided by the therapist you see.
Osteopathy, Chiropractic and Physiotherapy are all referred to as manual therapies and are considered Primary Health Care Professionals (and in this current climate have been identified as Essential Workers who can support the NHS by seeing patients in pain, who may otherwise seek assistance from the NHS).
