Tenterden Osteopath

What is the point – sham acupuncture

Bill Ferguson — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:06:37 +0000

Yet another waste of time. What is this obsession with sham acupuncture? Anyone who is involved in acupuncture realises that the effect begins when the tip of the needle touches the skin of the patient. After that there are two variables: the intensity of the treatment and the responsiveness of the patient.

One study looked at two treatments: shallow acupuncture that they called ‘sham’ and deeper acupuncture. Surprise, surprise there wasn’t much difference in effect. Their conclusion ‘acupuncture is no better than sham’. My conclusion ‘their sham was not sham at all, it was acupuncture’, if it proves anything it is that depth of needling is not very important.

A much better trial compared acupuncture with a drug known to control hot flushes.
Acupuncture was just as good at controlling the symptoms with fewer side effects, and no doubt a lot cheaper. I don’t suppose this trial will make the headlines – or am I just an old cynic.

This is what I would like to see: compare acupuncture directly with the normal drugs that are used routinely for arthritic joint pain, for IBS, for headaches and migraines. That would be a good start.

Forward opening doors – a gimmick or a breakthrough in car design

Bill Ferguson — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:42:03 +0000

The new Vauxhall Meriva has doors that open the opposite way to normal, a bit like the Morris 8 that James Herriott used to drive in ”All Creatures great and small”.

I think Vauxhall are missing the point – it’s the seats that cause the problem more than the doors. Instead of messing around with the doors why not design a car with a higher roof and a driver’s seat that is supportive and properly aligned with the steering wheel and pedals. I agree that getting in and out of a car is risky but the risk is magnified if you have just spent several hours driving sitting in an unsupported position. Read the Observer review here . Read my opinion here, and make up your own mind

James Herriot type car

The Cholesterol Myth

Bill Ferguson — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:30:58 +0000

If you are taking medication to reduce cholesterol, you need to read this article by Dr Mercola. He explains the medical terms that your doctor uses and tells you how to interpret your test results. He suggests that ”high cholesterol” is a made-up disease that has no medical foundation. Every living cell contains some cholesterol and it is a vital building material that is used to make molecules that our bodies need to repair themselves.

Every time there is inflammation in your joints or organs, your liver sends cholesterol to the area to help repair the damage. Instead of trying to reduce high levels of cholesterol, we should be looking to find the cause of the inflammation. He also challenges the notion that low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are always bad for you.

More worrying is his suggestion that the drug companies are making huge profits from unnecessary prescriptions of statins and that the chance of the drugs preventing you from dying prematurely are slim.

Take a deep breath and try not to splash in the wrong place

Bill Ferguson — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:53:58 +0000

Synchronised swimming is not for wimps. Look at this clip showing the Spanish team winning silver at Budapest earlier today. Try holding your breath for the same length of time as the girl who starts the sequence by diving from the poolside to the centre of the group. Don’t breathe until she does; to appreciate the difficulty of the event. Then think how stressful it must be to be competing for a medal at that level and you still have four minutes to go, most of the time upside down with your legs above water. And if you miss one breath you are in trouble.

Excellent music as well: Led Zep, Stairway to heaven.

EU rejects health claims for common over-the-counter products

Bill Ferguson — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:04:10 +0000

If you believe in glucosamine, probiotics and sugar free chewing gum for keeping arthritis away, supporting your immune system and reducing plaque on your teeth, you better stock up now. New regulations are coming into force that will make these products harder to find. Read the full article here

Carpets of Salt

Bill Ferguson — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:45:41 +0000

I’ve been on holiday. Even when I have time off it’s hard to stop seeing every activity from a professional angle. Each sport and every physical activity has its risks and the "alfombras de sal" weekend in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands is no exception.

Corpus Christi – Arecife 2010 – Lanzarote

Every year at the time of Corpus Christi, local groups in Arrecife decorate the roads around the church with brightly coloured pictures made from dyed salt. First they mark out the edges with bits of wood and nails, then they create the pattern with chalk, string and MDF templates.

Corpus Christi – Arecife 2010 – Salt Piles

A road digger dumps piles of salt nearby and the volunteers use shovels and wheelbarrows to gather salt and mix it with powder dyes to make the colours for the picture

Corpus Christi – Arecife 2010 – Working on picture

Filling in the pattern is done by hand using a combination of buckets, trowels and hands. The salt is then tamped down to form a layer about an inch thick. The work begins at 2pm on Saturday and continues into the late evening.

Corpus Christi – Arecife 2010 – Cesar Manrique

On the following day, after a mass in the church the priest led a procession over the "carpets of salt", called alfombras de sal in Spanish. Then soon after, the council workers came along and swept up all the salt and cleaned the streets, by Monday morning it had all gone.

Apart from pushing heavy wheelbarrows full of salt and shovelling, the activity I thought would cause most pain was the hours spent on hands and knees. I expect a few people were suffering on Monday morning.

Sciatica is Punishing the Young as well as the Old

Bill Ferguson — Sun, 23 May 2010 15:31:19 +0000

Our modern lifestyles mean that we spend more hours sitting at work than ever before. Sciatica used to be a problem affecting mainly middle aged or elderly people who sit a lot, nowadays it is also affecting people in their 20s and 30s. My colleague Gary Trainer has written an excellent article about sciatica and why it is becoming so widespread. I highly recommend the article and I agree with him that osteopathy and acupuncture are very effective ways of treating the condition. Read the Daily Mail sciatica article here.

Fancy a spot of rowing

Bill Ferguson — Sat, 08 May 2010 13:33:36 +0000

I enjoyed watching this short talk by Roz Savage. She describes how she decided to change careers from a business consultant to lone rower. She has already crossed the Atlantic on her own and is currently two thirds of the way across the Pacific. Until I watched her presentation I didn’t realise quite how much pollution exists in the sea. She says there is a collection of plastic waste in the Atlantic gyre that is twice the size of Texas. For further information see Roz’s website

Roz Savage – Ocean Rower

Aircast A60 Ankle Brace

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:10:52 +0000

Tennis star Andy Murray has been seen wearing this lightweight supportive Aircast A60 Ankle Brace. The original Aircast AirSport Ankle Brace will give you more support but it is bulkier and doesn’t fit as easily into regular shoes and trainers – you might need a larger size shoe than you normally wear. However the Aircast A60 Ankle Brace is altogether a much slimmer and lighter brace and doesn’t take as much room so it should fit easily into your comfort shoes and trainers.

The A60 has stabiliser splints on each side of the brace to prevent the ankle from rolling over. Combined with proper orthotics this brace gives good support and protection.

Consider using an ankle brace when you are recovering from an ankle injury or you have chronic ankle weakness and want to play sport. Remember that during recovery from an ankle injury your ankle is more prone to rolling over or inversion injuries, and you don’t want to stress or twist the ankle during the healing process so you need to restrict movement. You don’t want to stop ankle movement completely but some movement ranges need to be controlled.

It is easy to put on the A60 brace on. Slip your foot into the brace, do up the first Velcro strap on the top of the foot, then wrap the strap around the ankle, pull it tight, thread through the loop and secure in place. Simple.

Useful for conditions such as tarsal tunnel syndrome, chronic ankle weakness, plantar fasciitis and heel pain, and for the rehabilitation and recovery from a sprained ankle or a broken ankle.

When you are out and about during the day wear the brace, but don’t wear it all the time. Remember the aim is to get your ankle better so that you no longer need a support.

Buy the Aircast A60 Ankle Brace here

Aircast A60 Ankle Brace

Aircast A60 Ankle Brace – in shoes

Mueller Foot Arch Support for Plantar Fasciitis

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:28:34 +0000

The new Mueller Foot Arch Support for plantar fasciitis, heel pain, policemen’s heel and arch pain, wraps around the arch area of the foot to provide upward compression to the plantar fascia underneath the foot and continuous support for the arch. You can wrap it around your foot either under or over socks to wear inside any shoe however it is obviously slightly easier to wear with a comfort type of shoe or trainer rather than with a fashion shoe.

The arch support is made from neoprene so it is comfortable and light to wear. One size fits all. Secured in place by Velcro fastenings. A great new product.

Mueller Foot Arch Support – one size fits all

Mueller Foot Arch Support – wrap around foot

Mueller Foot Arch Support – secured in place by Velcro