Back and Neck pain is often influenced by daily strains placed on the spine posturally and with repetitive tasks.

These injuries are often mis-diagnosed, so it is so important to determine the specific cause of the injury. Our methods of assessment can accurately distinguish between muscular, joint, postural & disc origins of your pain. Whether you have a long-term injury or recent pain, our practitioners are experienced to apply the appropriate therapy.

Headaches are a disruptive and painful problem, commonly produced by neck and shoulder muscle tension & stiffness, & may be accompanied by jaw stiffness and soreness.

Migraines, although known as a vascular headache (throbbing is caused by the blood vessels in the temples), many of our clients also notice a tightening in their neck or jaw preceding the migraine. Once these factors are resolved, many clients experience far fewer migraine headaches.

Osteopaths reduce the tension and restriction of the identified causes, and teach you how to prevent your headaches with stretches and postural awareness strategies.

Whether it is a muscle, ligament, tendon or joint injury, we are able to differentiate the cause.

Our practitioners use the added value of ultrasound where appropriate to assist in your recovery, and provide you with a plan to get you back into your activities.  Rehabilitation programs are also an important part of recovery and enable an injury to heal faster whilst maintaining balance with the rest of the body.

• ankle sprains
• knee injuries
• hand, finger and wrist injuries
• shoulder and AC pain
• hamstrings, quadricep and calf strains
• tennis elbow

If required, your Osteopath may send you for X-rays, or refer you to your GP or Sports Physician for further examination. Boroondara Osteopathy is a sponsor of the Greythorn Falcons Football Club (greythornfalcons.com.au).

The Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) or jaw is the joint where the jaw bone meets the skull.

It is a complex mechanical joint system which allows us to chew, speak, yawn and perform many other daily functions. Most people don’t realise that the jaw is intimately related with the neck, inner ear, teeth and base of the skull and coordinates with these other structures to create normal movement patterns.
Sufferers of TMJ dysfunctions often report:

• cracking,
• popping
• grinding in the jaw
• & may find it uncomfortable to bite.

Jaw stiffness especially in the morning is an indicator of night-time grinding and clenching.

TMJ pain and dysfunction is common in clients who also experience neck pain, back pain, headaches, fibromyalgia or who have been involved in whiplash injuries in the past.

Our Osteopaths assess & treat the TMJ as well as the other mechanically related structures.

During pregnancy and in the months after giving birth, there are a number of enormous and subtle changes that occur within the body.

This is why it is so common to experience a wide variety of musculoskeletal symptoms. As your pregnancy progresses, the extra weight creates a shift in your body’s centre of gravity.  Your supporting ligaments soften and the muscles and joints have to accommodate for this change. These factors can add stress to your body, causing problems such as:

• spinal pain
• pelvic pain
• hip pain
• pubic symphysis pain
• sciatica
• shortness of breath & rib pain
• postural problems due to the weight of the growing baby, as well as changes to posture whilst breast-feeding

Not only does osteopathic treatment keep your body aligned while pregnant, it also maintains your mobility to aide in the birthing process.

We use ‘Belly Pillows’ (big cushions with a donut hole cut out of the middle) which allow women to lie comfortably on their front for treatment. This can be a lovely change due to the limitations of pregnancy.

You may find www.pregnancy.com.au a useful link for further information and support during your pregnancy.

Why is my child in pain?? It so common for young people to get pains while growing (especially kids that play a lot of sport).

When children and adolescents grow, their bones grow faster than their muscles. This creates a lot of tension in the joints as their muscles have now become taut elastic bands. The most common growing pains are experienced in the knees, heels and spine. Osteopaths loosen the muscles and joints, and teach appropriate stretches for the regions of pain.

Babies can also experience problems from unresolved birthing strains. This can lead to unsettling times with babies having trouble feeding and sleeping.

Osteopaths have highly developed sensitive skills to locate these birthing strains.  We use this skill along with a detailed birth case history and examination to resolve the strains, effectively relieving the discomfort & problem.  Tension/strain patterns can occur in the neck, torso and pelvis and cause symptoms such as:

• Constant crying
• Colic
• Difficulty with settling
• Lack of use of a limb
• Head-turning preference to one side
• Suckling difficulties when feeding

These injuries usually occur from overuse.  Whether your injury occurred recently or is long-standing, our approach is effective in both circumstances.

Common areas of injury include:

• Elbow (Tennis Elbow and Golfers Elbow)
• Wrists (often from computer keyboard use or sports)
• Rotator Cuff injuries of the shoulder
• Achilles tendonitis pain at the back of the heel bone

Apart from the massage and mobilising work we always do, our method involves an at-home strategic re-strengthening program tailored especially for these RSI/tendonitis injuries. This is an extremely effective method to rehabilitate the injury without re-aggravation.

It is common to hear people say, “it’s arthritis, I was told I just have to put up with it.”This is often not the case.

Due to the deterioration of the cartilage cushion in our joints and the natural narrowing of our discs in our spine, we feel increased stiffness and pain as we age. The good news is that mobilising the joints and working on the tight muscles around these joints improves our mobility and relieves the pain. Simple daily exercises can maintain this improvement. Our focus is all about restoring joint mobility & relaxing the muscles.