The elbow joint is a synovial hinge joint in the arm and consists of three main bones: The humerus of the upper arm, the radius and ulna of the forearm. The elbow joint enables us to bend and straighten our arm.
Tennis Elbow
This is a condition that causes pain on the outside of your elbow. It is mostly caused by overusing your forearm from repetitive or strenuous motions. If these motions are a normal part of your daily routine, then resolving your tennis elbow pain can involve quite a lot of time and treatment. In the interim, you may only get bouts of temporary relief. Permanent relief will probably necessitate a change in your daily routine and a fair degree of patience. Needless to say, tennis elbow problems should always be referred to qualified therapists with access to suitable technology, such as shockwave.
A simple but effective exercise involves doing light twists of the arm and bicep curls using a lightweight. The goal is to strengthen the tendons and the muscles in you arm. You can also stretch out the forearm by placing your fingers on a hard surface and pressing downwards, stretching out both the hands, the wrists, and the forearms.
Self-massage can also be helpful and can be found on YouTube. We also offer sports massage therapies in the clinic, ask for details
Golfers Elbow
Now the difference between tennis elbow and golfers’ elbow is that tennis elbow is inflammation of the tendon where it joins to the bone in the outer elbow and golfers elbow is inflammation of the tendon where it joins to a bone in the inner elbow.
Both injuries are overuse injuries that are caused by activities that require repetitive motion of the arm and wrist. The problems of resolving pain from golfers elbow are the same as for tennis elbow, covered above.
Occasionally, for both golfers and tennis elbow you may wear an elbow brace. The purpose of the brace is to redirect the pressure over your muscles so that the injured area doesn’t take full force.
Bursitis
There are many bursae located throughout the body that act as cushions between bones and soft tissues, such as skin. They contain a small amount of lubricating fluid that allows the soft tissues to move freely over the underlying bone.
Sometimes the bursa may become irritated or inflamed, more fluid will accumulate in the bursa and a bursitis will develop. It becomes swollen, painful and worsens with direct pressure on to the elbow. The swelling can sometimes grow large enough to effect range of motion. It can also become red and warm to touch.
At Nicky Snazell’s clinic, you can receive two treatments for bursitis that will help alleviate acute and chronic pain. Deep oscillation and pulsed shortwave.
- Deep oscillation provides an electrostatic current that helps to increase blood flow, circulation and helps to enhance treatment outcomes as it proves symptomatic relief.
- Pulsed shortwave acts as a type of microwave that provides a high frequency electromatic energy into the body to help reduce pain and swelling. It works particularly well for bursitis.
A soft pad can ease discomfort.
Ulna nerve irritation
This occurs when the nerve in the arm becomes compressed or irritated. The ulna nerve is one of the three main nerves in the arm. It travels from your neck down into your hand and can be constricted in several places along the way.
The most common place for compression of the nerve is behind the inside part of the elbow. Ulnar nerve compression at the elbow is called ‘cubital tunnel syndrome. It can cause numbness and tingling sensations in the hand and fingers.
However, you should seek help from a therapist as there are a number of reasons you may be getting these symptoms. More often than not, the pins and needles sensation you may feel, in your hand, for example, can be coming from a different area of the body completely. It may just be referred pain you are experiencing.
Top tips to reduce the likelihood of elbow injury
- Seek early advice from a physiotherapist or sports therapist.
- Protect your joints during activity, especially during winter activities. Wear elbow pads and wrist guards
- Don’t throw through elbow pain.
- Maintain a good posture- this prevents elbow injuries from compensatory overuse.
- Consider a workstation set up, as elbow pain can develop with prolonged daily computer use with poor posture.
If you are in pain, we can help
Call 01889 881488 Now
Jean, Erica & Charlotte will be happy to help
A lot of you may have watched the commonwealth games this year and noticed a familiar location that the mountain bikers raced on. Cannock Chase has provided us with the opportunity to use this track whether to practice or cycle on for the experience. Whether you are interested in mountain biking over Cannock Chase, or road cycling and you want to do so while minimising your chances of injury, then here is some free advice given to you from our sports therapists at Nicky Snazell’s Wellness and Physiotherapy Clinic.
First, there are many ways to decrease your chance of injury and footwear is one factor you should consider.
Compared to running shoes, cycling shoes are designed with stiffer soles to help optimize your energy transfer. You should keep your foot rigid, so there’s no power lost through your feet and all the power from your legs goes directly into the pedal stroke. Additional support from clipping your shoes into your road bike will also help you to feel more secure when you are pedalling and can help prevent you from losing balance. It can also make you more aerodynamic as it has been noted that it is easier to get your torso lower toward your handlebars making you more streamlined increasing your speed.
That said, proper trainers are only part of the solution if you are struggling with any pain when cycling. Strengthening and conditioning the muscles in your legs and core region is essential for injury prevention. We can provide guidance, not only to stop and prevent pain occurring but to increase your cycling longevity and your performance.
What are the most common injury areas from Cycling?
The most common injury areas, more often due to overuse and poor technique are:
- Knee
- Lower back
- Neck
- Thigh
- Ankle
Specific diagnoses for these areas are:
- Anterior knee pain
- Lumbar or neck myofascial pain, a chronic condition affecting the muscles
- The iliotibial band running up the outside of the thigh
- Achilles tendonitis
If you are a keen cyclist, the chances are you have suffered from an injury throughout your training. Understanding how and why this is caused and taking steps to strengthen your weakness could be a game-changer for your performance.
Strength and Conditioning
The problem for many of us is that daily life can involve a lot of sitting at a computer screen all day and this can lead to poor posture and the important muscles in our trunk stiffening up and weakening. These core muscles, along with those in the buttocks and thigh are important tant in stabilising you during exercise. If these muscles become weak you are more likely to injure yourself from falls or strains.
What is Strength and conditioning?
The use of dynamic and static bodyweight and resistance exercises to improve your performance and reduce the likelihood of injury occurring. It is also used during injury recovery.
Why should I strength and condition?
- Injury prevention – helps to correct muscle imbalances and improve muscle activation, as well as increasing the efficiency of your running biomechanics which results in improved running performance.
- To be faster/ stronger
- To enjoy exercise more.
If this sounds like something you may need, book an appointment with one of our sports therapists to get the best possible guidance and treatment. As an athlete, you put so much effort into your training, it’s worth putting the effort into taking care of your body too. Prevention is just as important as recovery.
Call 01889 881488 Now
Erica, Jean and Charlotte will be happy to help
Whether you are interested in the Cannock Chase 10k, a park run or even the Stafford half marathon, and you want to do so while minimising your chances of injury, then here is some free advice given to you from our sports therapists at Nicky Snazell’s Wellness and Physiotherapy Clinic.
First, though there are many ways to decrease your chance of injury, and footwear is one of the most important and there are a few important factors you may want to consider.
You may have just bought your first pair of trainers or have thousands of miles underfoot; either way, it is important to make sure they have good support. This is because the feet play a critical role in absorbing your body weight and the force of impact when you run or walk.
For example, when you run, your momentum generates a lot of force (up to 5X your body weight). Each time the foot strikes the ground, your joints absorb the impact. The shock from this force is felt in the feet and travels up the spine. This can lead to stress and strain on the joints and can lead to injury over time. Some factors to consider when buying a trainer.
- Ensure your trainer has a thicker heel to absorb impact. The build of the shoe will give you longevity and the cushion and material needed to withstand impact and repeated stress.
- It is also important to have a good structure. This will help ensure protection and support, reducing the likelihood of turning your ankle especially when going over the variety of terrain that you will experience on trail-runs.
- Making sure that the trainer is suitable for the type of running/walking you’re doing
Biomechanics & Orthotics
Even though you may have very good trainers, it’s possible that the way your foot interacts with the ground is far from optimal, which in turn can cause many problems not only in the foot and ankle but also in the knees, hips and spine, all the way to the neck. A properly prescribed bespoke orthotic based on a detailed static and dynamic assessment can resolve many of these problems, leading to fewer niggles, pain and injury in the long run.
Our sports therapists are able to provide such detailed assessments and if needed, also use this to design specific treatment plans to help your recovery.
What are common running injuries example
Ankle sprains are a common running injury. This is when ligaments that connect bone to bone in the ankle become overstretched through either rolling/twisting or over-rotating the ankle. This can happen in a split second with a simple slip on a wet tree root or a sudden shift of a rock underfoot. This may be accompanied by swelling, stiffness, and pain. While the R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) treatment is often an effective method to use at home, it would usually be advisable to seek help from one of our sport therapists to get the best treatment to speed up your recovery, plus get the prescription of the most appropriate strength and conditioning exercises to help stop the injury from spraining again.
Road Running VS Trail Running
Road Running
Road running is one of the most convenient forms of exercise as you can throw your shoes on and leave your house on a consistent surface. However, due to the hard surface, the vibrations going through your feet will produce greater stress on your weight-bearing joints such as your knees, hips and ankles. This will impact on those with poor tissue quality, arthritis history and those recovering from injury.
Trail Running
Running on trails is more technical due to the variety of terrain, surfaces, and hills.
As a trail runner, it is very important to have good balance and a very strong core to support your legs as they jump, dodge, and move in sudden different directions. The uneven surface and diverse terrain challenge the muscles of the lower body more than a flat, firm road. The natural obstacles can give you a more effective overall workout and help improve your sense of balance and reaction time.
Strength and Conditioning
Proper trainers and orthotics are only part of the solution if you are struggling with any pain when walking or running. Strengthening and conditioning your muscles in your legs and core region is essential to minimise injury occurrence. We can provide guidance not only to stop and prevent your pain from occurring but to increase your running longevity and your performance.
If you are a keen athlete, the chances are you have suffered from an injury throughout your training. Understanding how and why this is caused and taking steps to strengthen your weakness could be a game-changer for your performance.
The problem for many of us is that daily life can involve a lot of sitting at a computer screen for many hours and this can lead to poor posture, plus muscles in our trunk stiffening up and weakening. These core muscles, along with those in the buttocks and upper leg are important in stabilising you during exercise. If these muscles become weak, you are much more likely to injure yourself from falls or strains.
What is Strength and conditioning?
The use of dynamic and static bodyweight and resistance exercises to improve your performance and reduce the likelihood of injury occurring. It is also used during injury recovery.
Why should I strength and condition?
- Injury prevention – helps to correct muscle imbalances and improve muscle activation, as well as increasing the efficiency of your running biomechanics, which results in improved running performance.
- To be faster/ stronger
- To enjoy exercise more.
If you are suffering repeated running injuries or just niggling pain, these will prevent you from enjoying your sport as much as you would like. Our sports therapists can certainly help you both recover faster and help you minimise the chances of recurrence in the future. As an athlete, you put so much effort into your training, it’s worth putting the same effort into taking care of your body too. Ultimately, prevention is more important than recovery.
Call 01889 881488 Now
Erica, Jean and Charlotte will be happy to help.
At our clinic we have both Sports Therapists and Physiotherapists and it will probably confuse you as to why we suggest one type of therapist before the other.
Physiotherapists are trained to cover acute and chronic injuries to the structure of the body (MSK) and how to recognise the multitude of medical conditions with which they could be faced with in a hospital.
Sports Therapists are trained to deal with acute trauma, typically as would be found pitch side. In this situation at a major club, a Sports Therapist would work alongside a medical Doctor and Physiotherapist.
Recently I discussed roles with an Olympics Physiotherapist, and he felt Sports Therapists were excellent at pitch side care, having good relationships with the players. They would routinely deal with acute trauma and CPR. They are used to assess essentially healthy individuals with acute injury.
They can diagnose sports injuries and prescribe complex rehabilitation programs to aid recovery. They know when and how much sport to return to as the injury heals and have knowledge of massage, nutrition, preventative care and how to stay well.
Physiotherapists are not able to prescribe sports-specific rehabilitation programs unless trained postgraduate in sports medicine. They can however triage sports injuries, head injuries, spinal problems, neurological problems, and respiratory and rheumatological problems.
A Physiotherapist will often triage and then refer a patient to a Sports Therapist for massage and rehab.
Autumn is now upon us and we are rapidly approaching the end of October, a time when we lose an hour of daylight as the clocks change. By winter solstice, 21st December, our daylight hours will be nearly 6 hours less than 21st June.
For many of us, this will mean we will spend most of our winter days at work or inside, with little access to sunlight, most likely traveling to and from work in darkness. It’s hard to find anyone who looks forward to the prospect of so little sunshine. For 8% it will trigger Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.
SAD was officially recognised in 1984 following research that established that hormone levels were affected by available light. These hormone changes were found to change mood, sleep, and eating habits, increasing the desire to both sleep more and eat more carbohydrates.
SAD has been linked to depression and this is far from new, with physicians as long as 2,000 years ago identifying the link between access to sunlight and mood.
It is perhaps alarming that Roman physicians identified all these factors 2,000 years ago and yet we are still trying to get the same message across now.
For something so straightforward as a lack of time in the sunlight, the obvious recommendation to resolve this is to get out in daylight as much as possible, preferably at least 30 minutes per day. A brisk walk in the winter sun at lunchtime is clearly a healthier option than continuing to sit inside, in more ways than one.
There are other steps you can take to make winter a more enjoyable experience and now is the time to start planning, as once the lethargy sets in, it will most probably be too late.
Here are some ideas you should consider:
- Buy a daylight bulb and give yourself a daily dose of light therapy. SADA, the charity set up for SAD sufferers, estimates that up to 85% could be helped with this simple therapy.
Interestingly, we bought one and use it in the office at home and our two cats fight over it as soon as it’s on. They obviously pick up on something! - Start some form of regular exercise, even simple yoga will help. Exercise is PROVEN to make you feel better.
- Avoid bad news. We are addicted to the news, which is mostly bad news. Health experts' advice is don’t read newspapers and don’t watch the news for this very reason. ( And it’s a factor in the mental health epidemic we see now) Our body systems were never designed to be bombarded with constant negativity. Try it! I guarantee if it’s something important, someone will tell you anyway. The rest, by definition, is not important.
- Spend time with friends. Studies have shown that THE single most important factor in life expectancy is having regular contact with close friends.
- Laugh a lot. Do fun things.
- Eat and drink sensibly
- Get as much light as possible.
It is perhaps alarming that Roman physicians identified all these factors 2,000 years ago and yet we are still trying to get the same message across now.
Whatever happened to common sense?
Why should you choose a sports massage near you?
Finding a good sports massage near you can be challenging; sometimes, it can be worth travelling just that little bit further. But how far should you travel? Well, that depends on you, what you consider a fair distance for the type of relief and benefit that you will get from a sports massage.
Some of our clients will travel from London and others around an hour, while many are happier to travel 30-40mins. Even 30-40mins will give a large catchment for Nicky Snazell's Pain Relief Clinic, which is based on Stafford, but we service areas like Litchfield, Cannock, Rugeley and Uttoxeter.
If, however, you believe that you might have a sports injury, then please visit our sports injury page and contact us.
What are the main benefits of a sports massage?
The benefits include improved recovery time and improved blood flow to joints and extremities. This means that you will recover more quickly than without.
How painful is a sports massage?
A sports massage can be slightly more painful than a regular massage, but it is important to note the strength of the massage is driven by the individual and the individual needs of the client. It can be driven by the type of activity, and your pain threshold.
How long does a sports massage last?
A sports massage can last up to an hour with us, but you can still see the benefits of a shorter session.
What happens after a sports massage?
We encourage you to keep moving but not to overdo it. Try and relax and let your body heal for a couple of days if you can. However, advice will vary for each patient, situation, age and health.
How long are you sore after a sports massage?
It will depend if you were exercising, the level of exercise you were performing, your age and your health. In most cases, recovery can range from 2-4 days, and this is normal. If you ran a marathon or raced, perhaps had a tough match, it could, of course, be longer.
Why does it hurt after a sports massage?
It can hurt after a sports massage as this is a more aggressive pressure around key muscles. It can make the surrounding tissue tender and enhance your aches for a shorter period. a sports massage is there to help release your muscles, tendons and joints to promote recovery and muscle conditioning. This process can all add to some soreness after a massage.
If you are looking for a physiotherapy clinic, visit this article to see how you can choose one, or if you are looking for physiotherapists, go to our home page and message or call our team.
“Mr Roo referred me to you, said you are the clinic of last resort, as you fix problems others don’t or can’t, and he knows you will listen to me.
“I love my grandkids. I love my garden, I love to feed to birds, the hedgehogs, it’s my world, my life. Right now, I can’t do any of this because it’s agony and I don’t have a life.
I get phone calls from my doctor who prescribes drugs that don’t work. I have just seen a private surgeon at £19 a minute. He didn’t listen to me. I wanted help, I wanted him to listen, I wanted to know what I could do, who I should see. He just said nothing could be done with total disinterest, that surgery at my age was a waste of time and so was physiotherapy.”
Isn’t this sad? No one listened, no one gave her any hope.
“I have a scan, here, look, I don’t understand what it means. Can you help.”
This is what we did…………………
The scan showed a narrowing in a disc and some of it had squashed out like toothpaste, crushing a nerve in a rather arthritic little spinal joint. This little tiny part of her back meant she couldn’t pick up her grandkids, walk far, sleep or bend over gardening.
A detailed assessment showed us where the physical problem was, her general fitness and how she moved (her biomechanics). We needed to gently open up her locked-down spinal joint, quell the inflammation in her disc, and release the muscle contracture trapping the nerve.
Just as important as the physical treatment, we also needed to explain how other aspects of her health and mental stress were affecting her and her pain. To do this we explained the 4 Keys to Health: mindset, fitness, food and lifestyle and how a simple red, amber, green traffic light approach could help guide her to take the positive steps to better health. This in turn would help protect her from COVID and her pain.
We gave the patient her life back
After just 3 sessions she was no longer in physical pain and perhaps more importantly, had got her life back, comfortable in the knowledge that she had been listened to and that what was important to her had been understood. In her sessions, we gave:
- Advice on the relevant keys and how to move to 4 green keys.
- Counselling to reduce stress/ improve the immune response
- Laser to ease the pain and help reduce the inflammation.
- Electroacupuncture to reduce the pain and inflammation
- IMS dry needling to cut through fascia and remove muscle contracture, taking pressure off the nerves
- Exercise to help reduce the disc bulge with specific manual mobilisations and robotics
- Deep oscillation massage to soothingly reduce inflammation further
- Gentle hands on healing to further boost the response
If you are in pain, we can help
Call 01889 881488 Now
Jean, Erica & Charlotte will be happy to help
Our loyalty scheme has been a tremendous success and much loved since it was launched many years ago. Those of you who are familiar with this scheme will remember that we issued cards at reception which allowed you to record up to 10 loyalty stamps, one stamp for each appointment.
COVID then came along and threw a spanner in the works, as we were no longer able to issue cards for health reasons. This break, however, gave us the opportunity to rethink how the scheme could be improved both for you and us. We realised that we were in the process of installing some very powerful software and this, when operational, would allow us to develop a much more effective solution which would save you time on the phone and at reception.
We are delighted to tell you that our new software-based system is up and running and this means we can tell you almost instantly what your balance is on your loyalty account.
Didn’t Know We Had A Loyalty Scheme?
Well, Read On!
Now many of you who first joined us post COVID lockdown might not be aware we have a loyalty scheme and that you may have credit on your account. For those of you in this situation, this is how it works:
- You earn one loyalty credit for each appointment attended and paid in full
- Once you have 5 credits, you can exchange those in for a £10 discount on your next appointment.
- You can exchange multiple discounts at the same time. For example, 10 credits would get you a £20 discount and so on.
- Loyalty credits are not transferable or redeemable for cash
Our new system has been logging credits earned and exchanged since 1st July 2020, so fear not. Your account will be up to date.
Don’t Miss Out. Redeem Your Older Than One Year Old Credits Before 1st February 2023
We are taking the opportunity to update the rules of the scheme and from 1st February 2023, any credits which are over 12 months old will expire. Also, only credits earned since 1st July 2020 will be redeemable up to that date.
We are giving you plenty of time to use older credits earned between 1st July 2020 and 31st January 2022. Don’t miss out. Exchange them before 1st February 2023, or they will expire.
Still, Prefer The Cards?
The loyalty cards of old have been a very helpful reminder to many about their credit status, so much so that many may prefer to continue to get a card. No problem! We can give you a card if you wish, with the main log being available to you at any time from our software.
If you are in pain, we can help
Call 01889 881488 Now
Jean, Erica & Charlotte will be happy to help
Before I tell this story, I need to explain a bit about my background. I grew up in a scientific family, with a father and two brothers very much on the science rather than arts side of the seesaw. At school I was guided into science from the age of 13 and ended up studying engineering, just like my brothers. Since then, most of my working life has been in aerospace, surrounded by people who deal in facts and figures. In short, I had zero experience in anything spiritual and before this experience would have derided it as hairy fairy claptrap.
After leaving the aerospace industry behind in 2003, I chose to work as my own boss and started a health clinic business with Nicky my wife. She provided various treatment skills, including Physiotherapy and I provided the business background. Aware that I knew little about the health industry, I took myself back to college at Stafford for a year and subsequently to London for two and a half years, studying Chinese Medicine.
It is here my story unfolds.
My course work in London required many weekends and I soon got into the routine of travelling early Friday evening to London by train and then getting the tube from Euston up to Tufnell Park, where I then walked down Tufnell Park Road and stopped off at a clean and well-stocked shop halfway down, to get some tea, which I would eat at a fairly basic B&B.
This particular Friday, I was going to be unable to leave at my normal time due to work commitments, but I would still have no problem getting to the B&B at a not ridiculously late hour. That afternoon I mentioned to Nicky that I had had a vision a couple of times of being stabbed, which I put down to an overactive imagination and thought nothing more about.
I was keen to do some revision on the train, but this got interrupted by the stabbing image getting more and more frequent, to the extent it really started to spook me. I was in an interesting quandary as on the one hand, my scientific background told me it was just my mind stuck in a loop and couldn’t possibly be real. On the other hand, I was spooked, and any thoughts of studying went out of the window as fast as the scenery rushing past. By the time I made my way down to the Northern line platform at Euston I was contemplating going back up and getting a taxi direct to the B&B. It was my stomach that overruled that, as I needed something to eat and anyway, I was overreacting, wasn’t I?
My short tube journey to Tufnell Park, acted to intensify the feeling that I was going to get stabbed that night. As I stood at the corner outside the tube station, I forced myself to focus on getting something to eat. The later journey time meant that my favourite shop would already be closed, so an alternative was needed and there on the other side of the road was my saviour. Not as appealing as my normal haunt, after all I had seen it many times before and always written it off, but needs must, and it obviously sold food. I crossed the road where I had never crossed before.
My earlier impressions of the shop were fairly accurate, I bought up and decided that it would be my last visit. Outside I turned left and stopped to consider my walk to the B&B, which was about 5 minutes away. Next along from the shop was a GP’s Practice and between the two was a driveway to the back of the corner buildings.
I can only describe what happened then was like being overwhelmed by an intense surge of fear. I was instantly terrified and just wanted to get away. My senses were on full alert, and I was convinced that my visions were about to come true. I walked straight down the centre of the road, keeping maximum distance between me and any perceived danger points, like dark alleyways. It was difficult not to run, I was in full fight or flight mode, cortisol flooding my system and my heart racing.
I made it the B&B and couldn’t get into my locked room soon enough. I collapsed onto the bed to calm down, unable to face any food or fluid and went through multiple phases of relief. Eventually, I tried to make light of the whole experience and lent heavily on my upbringing and decided that I had been an overdramatic idiot.
After a fairly fitful sleep, I was relaxed. I convinced myself the whole thing had been imagination gone wild. I needed to get to Camden Town, and this meant retracing my steps back to Tufnell Park tube station.
As I got to the tube station, I looked across to the GP surgery and corner shop. The gap between was cordoned off by Police tape. An unlucky soul had been murdered there the night before. He had been stabbed.
An Epitaph
I have no memory of having any kind of similar experience to this before this event. It’s not impossible though, because nearly everybody I knew would have laughed in my face if I had suggested such a thing. It’s highly likely that being married to Nicky, observing her skills and listening to her beliefs, has opened a door in me that I didn’t even realise existed.
I cannot rub out this experience. It happened. Why did it happen to me? Who knows? But without a shadow of a doubt, I picked up on a stabbing more than eight hours before it occurred and from more than 100 miles away. I have no idea how this happened.
Has it happened again? Only once and nothing so significant, although it could have been. Nicky and I regularly drive to Norfolk and not being keen on the boredom of motorways and the A14, we have created a very nice cross-country route, which takes us through some very pretty countryside and allows us to stop halfway at a nice pub in Corby Glen. The route takes us across the A1 and through Colsterworth, famous for being the birthplace of Newton. One night we approached a crossroad in Colsterworth, with the road on the left being concealed behind houses. Although we had right of way, I braked hard suddenly before the junction and shouted to Nicky a car was going to come straight across in front of us. Seconds later a car shot out from the left and went across the road in front of us, travelling at a speed that would have caused a serious accident if we had been in the way. We would have been if I hadn’t braked.
I can’t explain any of this and no doubt many would try to fob it off as a couple of made-up stories, because they would have no basis to justify belief. I understand and sympathise with this, after all I would have done exactly the same before these experiences.
My view is that the life that most of us lead, the information we are given, the environment we are provided for most of us all provoke disbelief of anything intangible.
It is only the rare personal experiences of the tiny few that allows a different perspective to be even considered.
For me, I cannot possibly return to the majority belief. Will any more events like this occur for me? I don’t know. I will be disappointed if they don’t.
Alan
If you are in pain, we can help
Call 01889 881488 Now
Jean, Erica & Charlotte will be happy to help
One autumn morning last year, a quiet, middle-aged clinical professor came to see me because he found his gym workout was badly irritating his elbow and ankle.
I went over my 4 Keys (see my book) healthy living questions, to which he scored green in food/ water/ supplements and fitness. He scored amber in lifestyle – he was working a little too much. Family life had been fraught with problems until recently, and on the whole, he loved his work. He just couldn’t quite get his life/work balance right. His mind was amber and at times red, as he found teaching at university stressful, and he also found it difficult to switch off. I intuitively sensed some deeper issues, and it made sense that keeping fit calmed his mind.
“I haven’t injured myself or upped my workouts or done anything to cause these pains; they’ve just crept up on me. My pain is deep and aching, not sharp, and I haven’t done anything to cause it,” he stated, at a loss as to why this was happening to him.
This made me decide to explore his physical body for chronic [neuropathic] pain and to explore the deeper spinal muscles and relevant joints and ligaments. It seemed wise to leave the alternative discipline of shamanic reiki till later. This aspect of healing needs a deeper level of understanding and trust between practitioner and patient.
I could feel that his lower back was tighter on one side This could have been disc irritation, or it could have been his biomechanics, the way he sits and walks, and either a fixed or habitual posture. Telltale signs of collagen lines at the base of his neck and back suggested a thinning of the underlying discs. His buttock was acutely tender. His hamstring was slightly tenser, with sensitivity being increased again over the division of the sciatic nerve at the back of the knee, tight bands in his calf muscles, and a moving tenderness where his ankle flexors wove around his ankle.
This was all pointing to neuropathic changes to his L5 nerve root at the base of his spine. That means the sensitivity of the nerve root due to poor posture or ageing disc, as well as mild peripheral nerve changes, causing small contractures down the limb and his ache.
This type of problem is insidious and is often a normal part of ageing related to postural issues, causing disc narrowing, called spondylosis, and subtle changes to nerves, from very mild to severe neuropathy.
The symptoms can be anything from mild stiffness to pins and needles, numbness and various degrees of sharp burning and aching pains, often made worse on exercising.
Edwin needed a combination of treatments and skills to help resolve his problems. Over two treatments I gave him GunnIMS to relieve the deep-seated muscle problems at the base of his neck and back, plus acupuncture, laser, joint mobilisations and deep oscillation. I also used NLP and subtle mind mapping to get his head in the right place.
Ideally, I would have gone on to add shamanic reiki to heal issues in his auric body, balance his chakras, and use key acupuncture points in his fascial plane. However, after two treatments he was physically pain-free and elected to get on with his life.
If you are suffering long-term pain, and maybe even tried some treatments which have not helped, then it might be because the cause is more complex than first thought. Physical symptoms can manifest themselves due to a whole range of reasons, from mental to nutritional to physical, including neuropathic (nerve-related), or a combination of some or all these causes. It thus requires a deep and broad assessment to be able to create a successful treatment plan and positive outcome.
If you are in pain, we can help
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Jean, Erica & Charlotte will be happy to help