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Tiny baby Sophie was treated here by Peter Cockhill 33 years ago.

Now, Sophie has come back to Stillpoint with her three week old baby, Oliver.

Mum Sophie says “I always recommend friends and family take their babies to see a cranial osteopath for a check- up after birth. I have brought both my baby boys to Stillpoint and it is lovely to think I was treated here as a baby myself.”

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We are very happy to welcome, Acupuncturist, Richard Royds to the Stillpoint team.

Richard is practising acupuncture on Tuesday mornings, Wednesday mornings and some Thursday mornings.

For more details check out Richards acupuncturist practitioner profile or phone reception 01225 460106.

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We believe as Osteopaths that prevention and early treatment before a problem gets too entrenched in the body could lead to a better outcome later in life.

Children coming through the challenge of the birth, the growth spurts and the usual multiple falls and tumbles  during development, need our support.

The Water babies way of improving motor skills and confidence through the physical activity in water could potentially complement the Osteopathic approach aiming to release physical tensions in the child’s body. We want to link our skills with other professionals and help children who may have imbalances, and therefore expand the network of support.

The Water babies are one of the most popular UK swimming programmes, led in Somerset and Bristol by Bryony Johnstone and her team of teachers. Babies can go to the very nurturing and warm environment of the pool to freely experience buoyancy and have a special skin-to-skin bonding time with mummy or daddy while cheerful nursery rhymes are sung.

As lessons go on, under the close supervision of the parent and teacher, the children learn to perform specific movements with a small group of other babies, and even gain confidence by swimming under water. All the steps are carefully guided and very progressive. The swimming techniques have been recognised to increase safety in water, and strengthen the babies’ lungs and diaphragm. They also develop their listening and understanding abilities by following commands and by miming with other children. The coordinated response greatly encourages the development of the brain and the nervous system pathways.

There is also a course for children with special needs. Often these children may struggle with coordination and altered muscle tone. The water helps the relaxation of the muscles while the specific movements are designed to encourage muscular synchronisation and development in a medium reducing the effects of gravity.

In order to understand the benefits of Osteopathy, the swimming teachers attended some of our evening lectures in Bristol and Bath, which we held to demonstrate how to detect imbalances in children. Swimming is such a good way to observe a child’s posture and movement tendency, enabling the teacher to suggest a referral to an Osteopath if they think anything is indicated.

We have been very pleased to get to know our two professions better and share the wealth of our specialised fields. Our hope is to develop a wider support network for the health and development of young children.

Violette Aubry &  Xavier Decup, BSc (Hons) in Osteopathy

You can contact the Water babies:

• Lessons for children from 2 days old to 4 yrs of age.
• All teachers are fully qualified ASA/STA and registered with the lifesaver awards with infant specialisation.
• ½ hour duration

By phone on 01794 324 353

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THE SHOULDER JOINT

Shoulder pain is very common and can have a number of causes.

First and foremost the shoulder is the most versatile joint in our bodies and allows movement in many directions – just think of how mobile our arms and hands are! This is because the joint is shallow and therefore more easily injured, vulnerable to trauma, excessive demands and repetitive movements. It depends greatly on its soft tissue supports for any stability – such as muscles, ligaments and joint capsule.

The shoulder itself is not just one joint but the coming together of many articulations that will allow smooth movement of the arm. So it involves the humerus (top arm bone), scapula (shoulder blade) and clavicle (collar bone) and the upper ribs. All these bony elements have to be in good relationship to allow the shoulder joint to function smoothly and without irritation.

As osteopaths, we like to check that ALL these components are able to function as best they can. We most commonly see people after injury has disrupted the organisation of the joint complex – falls off bikes, sports injuries, falls on outstretched arms,  Other people may have acute or chronic  inflammation, especially of the muscles that help control and protect the joint (called the rotator cuff muscles – of which, supraspinatus is the one you hear of the most). Changes of posture, especially with ageing, and occupational stresses can have a big effect on the shoulder.

So why osteopathy?

Some injuries self heal and need only rest, others are more painful and may need more investigations and medical treatment. Treatment can take the form of pain killers, anti-inflammatory medication, steroid injections and sometimes surgery. Osteopathy can often intervene to restore joint function and prevent the need for longer term medication or surgery. Other times people have had the full range of medical treatment and are still in pain and have limited use of a shoulder. Here osteopathy can help with some mechanical issues around the joint that haven’t been resolved with other treatment.

So, as osteopaths, we examine and assess and see if there is some way we can use our hands to improve function. Treatment is gentle but specific both immediately after an injury or if a course of medical treatment is not helping. if a shoulder is inflamed it can be very painful and our treatment will take that into account. If needed, we refer on for more investigations – usually scans or x rays.

If you have any queries just call us on 01225 460106 and talk one of our osteopaths.

TESTIMONIALS

My frozen shoulder had not responded to other orthodox treatments. Over time, cranial osteopathy treatment gave me increasing mobility, and now I have my shoulder back. The relief is indescribable. Thank you.

Ms. C.W.

I booked an appointment with Peter Cockhill at Stillpoint following the personal recommendation of two close friends. I had been living with considerable pain in my shoulder on and off for four years. Even the simplest movement was painful. I was holding my upper body at an unnatural angle to protect myself from more pain and there was obvious muscle wastage. Following some benefit from surgery in 2009 I had still had to resort to regular steroid injections, frequent physio and the inevitable spectrum of painkillers. I have  now had five sessions with Peter and am amazed at the transformation. I am virtually pain free, my posture is much improved and I have almost full movement of my shoulder and arm.

Mrs. F.B.

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The pills people take to relieve headaches and migraines may be making things much worse, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) in guidance to the health service for England and Wales.

As many as one in 50 people suffer continual headaches because of “medication overuse”, Nice reports. Read the full article by clicking on the link below

Guardian article

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