As someone who’s been practicing osteopathy for 23 years now, I thought a little Q&A would be a nice change of pace for this week’s blog. Let’s dive in!

How did you get involved in osteopathy?

I was always interested in learning about human biology, and at school I always thought I would be a pathologist. I soon decided I would never get through the long 80-hour shifts that junior doctors admirably power through, and that I really need my sleep! So I had to have a rethink.

My parents would often visit an osteopath if they suffered from pain, so one day I went along to watch and the osteopath explained the training to me. I was hooked. When I finished my A-levels I headed off to London to train at the British School of Osteopathy and I’ve never looked back. I absolutely love my job, meeting and helping people every single day.

What do you like to treat?

As osteopaths, we are lucky because when people see us, it’s because they are motivated to get better. There is nothing like working with someone who listens to your advice and works with you to help themselves. That’s why I especially like working with people who are suffering from chronic pain because you get to know them very well – so much so that when they have hurt themselves, I can often tell before they say anything.

The bottom line is I really enjoy getting people to appreciate their health, look after their body through good nutrition and exercise, and avoid pill popping to solve the problem as this can lead to reoccurring illness. 

How has your osteopathy changed over the years?

The training at the British School of Osteopathy was very orthopaedic-based and less holistic. After meeting and working with Joanna Wildy, the owner of the Tisbury Osteopathic Practice prior to me buying it from her in 1999, I was introduced to cranial osteopathy and that’s where my interest in treating babies and children began.

Starting my paediatric training in 1999 showed me that osteopathy isn’t all about clicking joints. The amount of influence on the deeper tissues and fluids of the body with a gentle light touch is huge. Treating children with a plethora of diseases and syndromes, and the effect that we were having on them and their families’ lives was very humbling. We were just using our hands to achieve these results and it was so inspiring.

I also learnt a lot when I worked at the Orchard Surgery in Wilton with Dr Will Richardson. He was a medical doctor but was also trained in Chinese Medicine, and he showed me the best dry needling (Western Acupuncture) techniques.

What’s one of your most impressive achievements?

One of the components of my training course was treating babies in NICU. On my first day in the unit, I was treating a 24-week premature baby. A doctor came up to me and asked me if I could feel anything abnormal.

As I gently felt his head, I explained I could feel a hard, walnut-sized lump in the area of his ventricular system. The doctor then proceeded to look at his brain scan and said the little boy had a bleed in his ventricles in his brain. He was most impressed that I managed to immediately locate an issue, showing the doctors exactly what they needed to do to help the child.

So there you have it! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this Q&A-style blog and if you’d like us to do more like this.

In the meantime, give us a call on 01722 512 043 if you’d like to have a chat with one of our expert osteopaths about your health.