What is an Osteopaths greatest technique? You may be surprised to hear its education. Although hands on, manual therapy, forms part of a treatment our education and advice on your diagnosis, processes and events that have lead to your problem and the recovery pathway are the most powerful part of a "treatment". We see our role as twofold;
Our primary and most important role is as a point of screening for more serious conditions, which are rare thankfully. As a primary healthcare practitioner your Osteopath can determine through questioning and physical examination whether you need further investigations or a referral to your GP.
Advisor/Educator. This is our other role and the one that gets results. The more people understand their pain/problem and how they can improve it the better they are able to cope with it and the less anxiety ( a real pain amplifier!), they have associated with it.
Turmeric, is it good for inflammation or arthritis?
Recently we have been asked by patients, or told, that they are taking Turmeric for pain, inflammation and arthritis. Firstly its the active ingredient Curcumin which is in turmeric that does the work, so strictly speaking not turmeric. Secondly, just like medications, there are effective doses. Meaning there is no point in having "some" or a "little", more information on this below.
Is it Effective? And what for?
Inflammation, yes! There is strong scientific evidence that taken at the right doses curcumin can have an effect like aspirin and reduce inflammation.
Pain, yes again, there is strong evidence that it helps reduce pain due to the anti-inflammatory effects mentioned above.
Antioxidant. Strong evidence that it has an antioxidant effect but not a big effect on a healthy persons body, it can increase blood flow.
Curcumin also has some mild effects on cholesterol and triglycerides but should never be a treatment for this. There is also some association with lower cancer risks specifically to Colo-rectal and prostate cancer but the evidence for this is limited at this stage. How much do I take?
Curcumin is poorly absorbed by the body on its own. So check your supplement if you are taking any. You "must" have one of the following enhancers for proper absorption, if not too little curcumin will be absorbed.;
Pairing curcumin with black pepper (piperine)
Curcumin phytosomes complexed with phosphatidylcholine (Meriva or BCM-95)
Curcumin nano particles (THERACURMIN)
Water-soluble curcumin (polyvinyl pyrrolidone
As long as you have an enhancer in your supplement, 80-500mg a day will be an effective dose.Supplements on their own are never a cure all or to be taken long term. Always look at the big picture if you have chronic pain.
The Importance of a Proper Warm-up
With a lot of summer sports winding up and the winter sports kicking into to gear we thought we would chat about warm ups. Ask anyone and they would all agree that a warm up before sport or activity is a good idea. But what does a warm up achieve?, is it necessary and how should we do it? Why Warm Up Before Sport or Competition?
It increases overall body and muscle temperatures which increase blood flow to the active muscles.
It increases the body and muscle temperature which helps to increase the rate of energy production.
Contraction and reflex times are improved with higher muscle temperatures.
Soft tissue (tendons, ligaments, muscles) injuries are less likely.
There is also a psychological (neurological) benefit from properly warming up (the athlete feels more ready to participate)
How Should I Warm Up? Here are some basic considerations. If you have more specific questions consult with one of our Osteopaths.
Should I stretch? The short answer is long term, yes, for general flexibility. But static stretches (holding a muscle in a stretched position for a period of time), shouldn't really be part of a warm up program.
How long to Warm up? Generally 5-10 minutes is enough depending on your level of experience and what your planning to do.
What Should I do? As we said earlier primarily we are trying increase body temperature, get the body moving, and prepare the neurological system for more intense activity. So the simplest activity for most sports would be an easy jog (or cycle if you are at a gym), for 5-10 minutes at a low heart rate. Depending on what sport your engaging in you could start performing some of the movements you will be required to do at an easy level. As a Tennis player after a short jog, they would start gently hitting balls alternating forehand,backhand for a few minutes. Progressing to some overhead shots, as this challenges the body a little more. Further advancing to hit shots a little wider on the court, increasing lateral movements. Finish with some serving practice. lastly some run through,which are short sprints of say 10-15 metres at about 80% maximum effort. The athlete would do 6 of these and walk back to the start between each one. By this stage they should fully prepared and feeling ready to begin!
References;
https://examine.com/supplements/curcumin/See the link for full references. Courtesy of Examine.com
Judge LW, Petersen JC, Bellar DM, et al. An examination of preactivity and post activity stretching practices of cross country and track and field distance coaches. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). 2013;27(9):2456-2464. Grooms DR, Palmer T, Onate JA, Myer GD, Grindstaff T. Soccer-specific warm-up and lower extremity injury rates in collegiate male soccer players. Journal of Athletic Training (Allen Press). 2013;48(6):782-789.