Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition affecting the sole of the foot. Specifically, it causes pain in the plantar fascia, which is the tendinous tissue just deep to the skin on the sole of the foot. Pain is most often felt just beyond the heel bone, towards the inner edge of the sole. Signs and […]
Plantar Fasciitis: A Common Cause of Foot Pain Read More »
Hypermobility is a symptom rather than a diagnosis, and it can be completely benign or associated with another condition. What is Hypermobility? The term literally means “more mobile” There are a few tools we can use to identify whether or not someone is hypermobile. One of those is the Beighton Scale. This is a quick
The tailbone is the very last bone in the spine, and it may be lower than you think. Often patients gesture to their sacrum when talking about their tailbone, but as the illustration below shows, they’re not the same thing. Tailbone Anatomy As the name suggests, the tailbone (or coccyx) is a residual nod to
Tailbone Pain: Coccydynia Read More »
Pain is not always felt in the same area that caused it. There are a few reasons why this can happen, and one of them is referred pain (RP). This is a relatively common phenomenon where the brain misinterprets the location of pain. A signal comes in, and the brain recognises the part of the
Trigger points (TrPs) are relatively controversial due to the difficulties in studying and defining them. They produce patterns of pain and other symptoms that are felt when another area is irritated, stretched, or engaged. They can make relatively simple muscle problems look like something much more complicated, so they do bear thinking about. For example,
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Rheumatoid arthritis is often confused with osteoarthritis, but the two are very different. Rheumatoid Arthritis vs Osteoarthritis Both conditions can cause joint pain, stiffness, and a loss of movement. But rheumatoid arthritis also: affects a younger population, with symptoms typically starting between 30-50 years old causes symptoms in small joints first, such as the hands,
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Hand and arm pain are often caused by a problem further up the body. Sometimes a nerve gets trapped around its exit from the spinal cord in the neck, and sometimes the problem is around the shoulder. Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) involves an area at the top of the chest between the first rib and
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Although most of our patients present with problems involving muscles, joints, or nerves, sometimes we can help with more visceral issues too. Muscles within the Digestive System Although we think of organs as totally separate to the musculoskeletal system, there is crossover. Intestines move food through the body using muscles (although they are slightly different
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The pelvic floor is a sling of muscles at the base of the pelvis: both men and women have these. These muscles are responsible for supporting the contents of the pelvis, and supporting bladder and bowel continence. Prenatal and Postpartum Care Although there is a lot of emphasis on strengthening the pelvic floor after giving
Circulation is a bit of a vague term, but it is considered an area that osteopaths may be able to help with. This post will focus on two specific aspects of circulation. Post Injury Swelling The more simple of the two is post-injury swelling. This may appear alongside bruising for injuries such as ligament sprains.
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