https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/blog-darwin-osteopath daily 0.75 2020-01-08 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/blog-darwin-osteopath/isstretchinghelpingyou monthly 0.5 2019-10-07 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/blog-darwin-osteopath/the-importance-of-resistance-training-for-over-50s monthly 0.5 2019-10-21 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/blog-darwin-osteopath/the-answer-to-desk-related-aches-and-pains-is-outside-the-workplace monthly 0.5 2019-12-03 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/blog-darwin-osteopath/morning-aches-amp-pains-making-you-feel-older-than-you-are monthly 0.5 2020-01-08 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/blog-darwin-osteopath/the-stress-response-that-once-kept-us-alive-is-slowly-killing-us monthly 0.5 2019-12-03 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/osteopath-in-darwin daily 1.0 2022-01-06 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/muscle-injury-darwin daily 0.75 2019-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569125106125-CHF7UWAUD24EKSKBD8KM/david-marcu-8TJbrQGKFyU-unsplash.jpg Muscle Strains, Tendon Injuries & Repetitive Strain Injuries - Darwin Osteopath providing comprehensive treatment and management for a wide variety of muscle and tendon complaints. Muscles strains and tendon injuries can come about from an acute incident or commonly due to an increased biomechanical load over a prolonged period of time. In order to get sustained relief, the load on the area must be reduced by assessing and treating surrounding structures. Whilst simultaneously building up the functional capacity of the muscle/tendon giving the symptoms. Example case study · 42-year-old male with right sided achilles pain, the pain comes on upon rising from prolonged sitting, getting out of bed and running. He has a history of calf strain from his football days and has always been stiff in the calf/achilles however never had pain. The pain came on in the last couple of weeks after starting training for 10km fun run. · Upon examination it was found that he was weight bearing more so on the right side, had restricted right side ankle mobility, and tension right along the back of the calf and hamstring. An achilles tendinopathy was diagnosed caused by recent increase in running load and pre-disposed to by history of calf injury. · Treatment involved doing some dry needling to the calf and hamstring muscles to reduced tension down the back of the leg. Also, some articulation was performed to loosen off the ankle joint and reduce load on achilles. · Management involved systematically re-loading the achilles tendon to create greater strength in the tendon to be able to cope with an increased running load. Exercises were given immediately, following current evidence-based advice, and gradually increased the exercise load to allow him to get back to training for the fun run. Advice was also given to ensure he wasn’t resting on the right leg when standing still. https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/our-services-in-darwin daily 0.75 2019-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569128162573-SBB9S05RSYFREY4VUO4R/caroline-zora-RzQ1dvNb7YI-unsplash.jpg Our Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569128279625-N06TMTFLTKJAEXQVPZHI/luke-porter-PtfrMfx-X7o-unsplash.jpg Our Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569128495239-BLXGMOMZ3G5FUK5CD0DN/mitchell-griest-MT9gX5nd7Ig-unsplash.jpg Our Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569128860706-13HVTE2B6BTRKDMZWPQW/david-marcu-8TJbrQGKFyU-unsplash.jpg Our Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569129130837-XFF6YBWAUWZ8AGJO4DSD/will-truettner-D4SMyRFV_Fo-unsplash.jpg Our Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569128724201-M433W09Y6YF3B8P5TG0C/racheal-lomas-Hes5fA6CHGk-unsplash.jpg Our Services https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/back-pain-darwin daily 0.75 2019-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569124135264-K2S8WTZN3NN9ZHWY3IHB/caroline-zora-RzQ1dvNb7YI-unsplash.jpg Lower Back & Pelvic Pain - Osteopath in Darwin getting to the root cause of your lower back pain. Lower back and pelvic pain can come in many different forms. Whether it be an acute flare up or chronic pain, the key to sustained relief is finding the root cause of the pain. Alterations in the position and biomechanics of your pelvis and lower back may be causing certain tissues to have to compensate, ultimately leading to pain. Treatment is aimed at holistically treating the area to reduce the load being place on the symptomatic tissues, whilst giving appropriate advice to avoid re-occurrence. Regardless if you have a disc injury, ‘wear and tear’, sciatica or a general ache steps can always be put in place to help provide long term relief. Example case study · 38-year-old female with right sided lower back pain, radiating into the buttock region. The pain is mainly present with sitting, standing in one position and in bed trying to get to sleep. She can get some short-term relief by moving about and stretching the hips however the pain will return upon taking up those static postures. The pain has been ongoing for 10 months, post pregnancy, and separation of the abdominal muscles was diagnosed post child birth. · Upon examination it was found her pelvis was un-levelled on the right side, which was causing an increase in weight bearing through the right side. This was causing her gluteal muscles to overwork in compensation, while also increasing load through weight bearing joints. Her lower back appeared to be hinging through the lower segments which was causing them to become irritated and symptomatic, further compounded by abdominal muscle separation not being able to provide full support. · For treatment, some gentle soft tissue work was done through the gluteals and muscles of the lower back, articulation performed through the spinal segments to even out the functional load and the pelvic position addressed through hands on treatment. · For initial management, some gentle lower back mobility exercises were prescribed to bring movement back to restricted joints, and stretches were given for some symptomatic relief. Once the symptoms were eased, an exercise regime was given to work on abdominal muscles that became separated. https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/headaches-darwin daily 0.75 2019-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569124737827-O4XVYRZZ2G5UB8293FQM/luke-porter-PtfrMfx-X7o-unsplash.jpg Headaches - Darwin Osteopath aiming to diagnose and treat all potential causes of musculoskeletal headaches for long term solutions. Headaches can be caused by a wide range of different structures in the body. From the muscles or joints in the neck, your jaw and even from your shoulders. Initially, treatment is aimed at those tissues causing your symptoms to help get you feeling back to your normal self. The next step is to understand why those tissues became irritable in the first place so you can make headaches an issue of the past. Example case study · 32-year-old male desk worker with tension type headaches, headaches start in the early afternoon at the base of the skull and radiate to the front of the head. The headaches have been ongoing for 18 months and have been getting worse in the last 3 months to the point where he has a headache every other day. · Upon examination it was found that his upper back had an increased curve and was rigid in movement, he was chest breathing with short breaths and consequently his rib cage respiratory movement was limited, his neck range of motion was reduced in all ranges of motion. Due to the increased curve in his upper back, the muscles in the back of his neck were having to pull his head up to bring his eyes looking straight ahead. This prolonged compensation caused those muscles to become symptomatic, causing tension type headaches. His altered breathing mechanics were thought to be from increased stress in the workplace and was restricting the ability of his upper back to move, due to the rib’s attachments to the upper back. · Treatment was aimed at trying to reduce some of the curve in the upper back to ease the load being placed on the neck. Articulation of the upper back joints were applied, followed by a joint manipulation. Soft tissue work was done through the neck to reduce muscle tension with the aim of reducing symptoms. For management, some mobility exercises were given to the upper back to improve its function, and some deep breathing exercises were given to improve rib mechanics and reduce stress. https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/darwin-osteopath daily 0.75 2021-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1620256222105-NKAIJ0MWBM3PYKFDQMQ7/IMG_0091.JPG About Us - Having always had a fascination with the human body, its innate intelligence and our potential to maximise its function, osteopathy was a natural choice for Blair. Obtaining a degree in Exercise and Sports Science at Deakin University as well as Osteopathy at RMIT University, Blair has a keen interest in combining movement and rehabilitation with osteopathic treatment to create individual patient centred care. Blair will endeavour to find the primary cause of pain, not just the symptoms, while using a wide range of techniques to treat patients such as myofascial release, joint mobilisation & manipulation, dry-needling and soft tissue techniques. Blair also uses fascial counterstrain, a gentle technique that aims to relieve tension in the connective tissues that surround nerves, veins, arteries, viscera and ligaments. This allows him to be able treat issues that may be stemming from structures other than just the muscles and joints. Blair enjoys meeting people from all walks of life, treating a wide range of conditions, both acute and chronic, and using osteopathy to help empower them to maximise their health and wellbeing. https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/osteopath-darwin daily 0.75 2022-01-11 https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/shoulder-pain-darwin daily 0.75 2019-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569124300748-D60BTXKFSJTTUDRLB5RW/racheal-lomas-Hes5fA6CHGk-unsplash.jpg Shoulder & Hip Conditions - Osteopath in Darwin aiming to give simple solutions to some of the more complex joints. The shoulder and hip are two of the more complicated joints in the body due to their ball and socket orientation and the fact that multiple muscles play a role in their function. A sound understanding of the way these joints function and importantly how they interact with their surrounding is crucial to obtaining relief. If you have a shoulder issue and your upper back and neck haven’t been properly assessed then you likely haven’t got the full picture, similarly with the hip in relation to the lower back, knee and ankle. Example case study · 50-year-old female with right sided shoulder pain, pain is intermittent and associated with certain movements, eg putting on bra or reaching up to a cupboard, the pain is sharp with those movements but can also get an aching sensation, often in bed. The shoulder has been limited for many years as it is her ‘dodgy shoulder’ however the sharp pain has only come on in recent times. · Upon examination is was found that her right shoulder was rounded forward and sitting lower than the left side. She tested positive for shoulder impingement and negative for any shoulder pathology. It was diagnosed to be a functional issue rather than structural pathology. Upon further discussion she mentioned recently spring cleaning the house which had a lot of windows, we determined that the repetitive tasks caused some of the muscles of the shoulder to tighten up. These tight muscles then affected the shoulder biomechanics and lead to impingement on certain movements. · Treatment was aiming at reducing the tension in the overworked muscles of the shoulder to bring the shoulder back to a neutral position and improve shoulder biomechanics. For management, some gentle stretches were given to those muscles affecting shoulder position and function. Once the symptoms reduced, strengthening exercises were given to increase functional capacity for the next spring clean. https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/neck-pain-darwin daily 0.75 2019-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569124455882-JGEG0NKV64BELPG1K5RD/mitchell-griest-MT9gX5nd7Ig-unsplash.jpg Neck Pain & Upper Back Pain - Osteopath in Darwin assessing neck and upper back pain holistically for long term solutions. Neck pain can often be persistent and debilitating. It may be a sharp feeling every time you turn your head, a pinching in between the shoulder blades or a feeling of constant tension that no amount of stretching seems to relieve. Often the answer to sustained relief comes from looking further down the body, the upper back in particular, but even down to the pelvis and feet. Extremely common in desk workers and those who have sustained whiplash. Example case study · 40-year-old female with left sided neck and upper back pain, the pain is sharp in nature with turning of the head and has also led to a constant stiff feeling in the neck. The pain has been intermittent over a 6-month period however has become constant and unrelenting in the last few weeks. · Upon examination it was found that her pelvis was unlevelled on the left side which caused her left shoulder to be sitting lower than her right. This was placing an increased tension in the muscles on the left shoulder and neck, she was chest breathing and recruiting muscles in the front of the neck to help breath, further adding tension. The joints in her upper back were very rigid in movement which was causing the joints in her neck to become overworked in compensation for the upper back. The combination of tight muscles in the neck, and the joints of the neck compensating for a rigid upper back led the neck joints to become symptomatic upon movement, causing local neck pain, radiating down to the upper back. · Treatment was primarily focused on bringing back movement to the upper back with articulation and gentle manipulation, while also doing some work through the muscles and joints of the neck aiming for some symptomatic relief. Some treatment was also focussed on addressing the pelvis position to bring the shoulders back to a neutral position. For management, some mobility exercises were given to the upper back to improve its function, and some deep breathing exercises were given to allow the muscles in the front of the neck to relax. https://www.acaciaosteopathy.com.au/upper-lower-limb-conditions-darwin daily 0.75 2019-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d65127312be57000174334e/1569125569144-QRDA6CY43FBM5OJS7UXV/will-truettner-D4SMyRFV_Fo-unsplash.jpg Upper & Lower Limb Conditions - Darwin Osteopath treating upper and lower limb conditions with a holistic approach for long term solutions. Osteopaths are extensively trained in anatomy, physiology, orthopaedic examination and osteopathic assessment/treatment which allows them to help with most musculoskeletal presentations in the body. As such, this knowledge gives them the ability to treat the ankle, knee, elbow, wrist, hand and everything in between. It is important however, to not just treat the extremities alone, if presenting with an issue in these areas the whole body will be taken into consideration in assessment and treatment to understand why these symptoms are occurring.