Positive Health Online

After studying and practising massage for many years, I became aware of the difficulties in managing patients' back pain and wanted to learn more about how I could help. Therapeutic and remedial massage helped in the short term with or without essential oils, but I felt there was more needed. I did not want to train in manipulative therapies following a personal bad experience, but knew I wanted to train in a technique that could help.

Back in 1997, I published an article in Positive Health Magazine on a then 17 year old therapy called Neuroskeletal Dynamics after returning from Australia, where I finally trained in the technique I had been looking for. We now call this therapy the Neuro-Skeletal Realignment Therapy. The beauty of this treatment lies in its simplicity and non-invasiveness. Patients, new to any form of complementary or alternative therapy, come to me with their back or joint problems, usually by word of mouth, and are relieved in the first instance that they do not need to remove clothing, and they are not going to be pulled about!

The therapy is very gentle, using only light touch, but it is amazing in its results. You cannot make anyone worse and no pressure is applied so it can be utilised on just about anyone. It can treat any musculo-skeletal/ neurological condition as it works to re-align muscle, tendon, ligament and bone through the central nervous system. It can be used on all ages, from babies to the elderly and can help improve mobility and sensation even when none can usually be expected. I have worked on many conditions from general back pain and sciatica right up through cerebral vascular accidents and paraplegia. We have also found that it correlates with meridians and works to open chakras. It therefore has significant effects all many levels.

The most common treatment I do is for sciatica and piriformis syndrome, which I comically refer to as a pain in the butt, because that is exactly how it feels! These conditions are more often than not easily treated as they are postural/ muscular conditions, but where disc bulging/herniation is the cause, treatment is still valuable in combination with inversion therapy. Babies who are unsettled and not sleeping need only one treatment, and I have a number of canine patients too, whose arthritic joints are improved with regular treatments. Arthritis management is a large part of the work I do.

Case Study 1

One of my most interesting and enjoyable cases was a paraplegic who had suffered a road traffic accident some ten years ago. He had broken T3 and T4 and had no sensation at all from that point down. My Australian colleagues had had some successes with paraplegia, and I was keen to work in this area and was lucky enough to find a willing volunteer who became a research case for me.

After months of treatment we found that the spasms, although they would completely disappear immediately following treatment, were steadily worsening in between treatments. His consultant supported the work, and we continued, as something was obviously happening. After many more sessions, the subject was able to feel me stroking around the left side of his lower back and waist, and when I squeezed his toes, he felt a sensation "like something coming up from below water". I never expected miracles to happen nor to make him walk again; our aim was to see what improvements would occur with regular treatment.

For this patient, any gain in sensation was a bonus and very exciting. He stopped referring to the part of the body he could not feel as a separate entity and re-owned it.

Case Study 2

The next one I will share was actually that of my own father, who came to stay a couple of Christmases ago. He had suffered a disc prolapse many years ago, but keeps himself very fit and healthy. As often happens, he was just bending down to pick wrapping paper up off the floor when he collapsed in agony with his back. I was immediately able to offer the treatment and felt the movement in the lumbar region as I gently held the points. He was able to slowly get up and sit down after I had finished. That was on the Monday and by the Friday of the same week and following another alignment, he was back to work. At the time he had envisaged at least 6 weeks off work flat on his back. I was taught that the quicker you treat a condition after the initial injury the better, and this proved it to me without question.

The great and positive thing about these treatments is that once you have sorted out a problem, it rarely returns. Patients come and are so delighted by how you can quickly get them pain free again that they tell everyone they know, so I always have a waiting list for new patients. By introducing them to massage as part of their treatment, many patients are introduced to a therapy they may not have considered and become regulars in the practice, just for general well being and relaxation. The alignment itself can be used to manage conditions, such as arthritis and osteoporosis, because it offers pain relief and increased mobility, plus a good night's sleep. It is the most relaxing treatment you will ever have and most patients are off to sleep within the first few minutes.