Welcome

Welcome

Hi and thank you for visiting my site! I hope you find everything you are looking for here, but if not drop me an email at jakblack16@gmail.com or a text on 07974 005676 and I will get back to you to answer any questions you have.

Me and Osteopathy

I thought I would give you a little information about how I work and what Osteopathy is before you decide if this is the right place for you to be.

My main qualification is in Osteopathy which is a system of assessing, diagnosing, treating and preventing a wide range of health problems. One of Osteopathy’s underlying principles is that the body has the capacity to heal itself, we just have to tap into the body’s own medicine chest to help it help itself. Osteopaths are commonly known for treating back pain and postural problems including changes due to pregnancy, caused by driving or work strain, the pain of arthritis and minor sports injuries.

Prior to being an Osteopath, you could say I was a fitness junkie. Competing in triathlons and adventure races but not at any elite level. All very amateur and for fun! I qualified in personal training and sports massage but always wanted to learn more.

Osteopathy attracted me as a profession as it treats the whole the person as an individual. Often addressing the causes of problems not just the symptoms people are having. Problems are often created without us knowing about it. For example, poor posture or lack of strength in a muscle group or just bad habits that create tension, stress or restriction in joints can lead to a problem developing. So, you may have a knee problem because the muscles around your pelvis aren’t firing at the right time or your hip flexors are too tight. You may develop tennis elbow because you are restricted around your shoulder.  Osteopathy helps address these issues and my interest in underlying issues and how we use our bodies as humans has grown.  It is this that led me to do more work on movement with my clients. I am constantly amazed at how much more we can do.

I am a follower of Joanne Elphinston’s JEMS principles and Gary Ward’s teaching in Anatomy in Motion and use many of their techniques for assessment and treatment in my practice. I also travelled to California in 2015 to qualify as a Foundation training instructor which is the brainchild of Dr Eric Goodman. This is an exercise methodology to engage your back muscles. I teach a lot of foundation exercises and encourage people to allow it to become part of their everyday life to help prevent problems. Have a look at www.foundationtraining.com for more information.

As an Osteopath I don’t believe” I fix” anybody. I certainly don’t have magic hands. I assess everybody as an individual and therefore treatment may not be the same from one person to the next. I work with my clients to discover with them how to help them help themselves through movement and manual therapy. Most of the hard work is done by you I’m afraid.  Some of the treatment may well be hands on and involve soft tissue techniques, joint mobilization or manipulation, kinesiology taping or the use of acupuncture needles.

So, if you’re still reading this then I guess you’re interested in more than just the standard treatment approach.

I can’t make any promises about how much better you will be. But I can assure you:

I will try my best for you

I will conduct a full medical and lifestyle history

There will be a full physical examination including movement assessment

There will be a plan and constructive advice for you to apply