Torbenator II

I realise I owe you a follow-up on my new adventures in osteopathy. I revisited the Torben’s office one week to the day of my first “manipulation.” I was both satisfied and disappointed with the result of the first visit; that’s Tim’s fault (LOL) as every time he has gone to Torben he walks out a perfectly readjusted man without having to (immediately) return!

The satisfaction came with not having any discomfort in walking. The odd feeling—not a sharp pain, but a pain nonetheless—that had recurred several times in the week before the first visit had disappeared; I could walk normally. The disappointment, then, was that I was feeling a bit more ache in the instep of my left foot, and, just the day before the second appointment, I started to feel a slight strain in my left calf, as though I’d pulled a muscle. I tried to think of when that began and why; the best I could come up with is that I’d gone to my reading scheme at the primary school and had to sit in a child-sized chair for about 30 minutes while listening to my partner hurry (as Year 5 kids do) through a dozen pages of her chosen book.

I explained all of this to Torben, who got right to work—first having me bend and twist in several directions, and feeling my neck, shoulders, and hips for alignment. On the table the method started by following last week’s process, though I was admittedly better braced for the sound of the gas bubbles “popping” within the fluid of my joints. The treatment continued with a rather forceful massage that, even in its pressure had me laughing out loud—I’m terribly ticklish and Torben seemed to find all the wrong places. When I get tickled—which I hate—I naturally tense up. Nevertheless Torben kept on and I managed to not squirm off the table. Session done, and I felt good—again, no pain in hip or foot—and dutifully made my next appointment before heading off to the St Pancras Grand Hotel lobby to have a coffee and catch up with Jyoti.

My friend Taron, who has regular visits to a physiotherapist, posted a comment on my earlier blog asking how osteopaths do what they do. Like a physiotherapist, the osteopath will try to alleviate pain and also improve mobility. Torben’s site mentions three basic principles:

1) Your body is a whole and must be regarded and treated as such.
2) Your body can under the right conditions heal itself.
3) Your body's structure and function are mutually interdependent.

Osteopathy recognizes that pain and disability stems from abnormalities in the body's structure and function; osteopaths diagnose and treat problems with muscles, ligaments, nerves, and joints to help the body's natural healing ability.

Treatment involves gentle, manual techniques to ease pain, reduce swelling, and improve mobility. And, once the optimal balance in the body is restored, the osteopath may provide exercises to maintain this balance.

I’ll admit I didn’t ask as many questions as I normally would of Torben on the first visit—I was thinking “one and done” and was actually surprised when he said that he wanted me to return, and of course my time was up and the next patient was waiting.

During my second visit, however, I asked everything I could think of: where was the discomfort coming from? What is the root cause? How many more visits before it goes away?

I’m not thrilled with the answers—sciatica, root cause unknown, and 4-6 more treatments before he can relieve the compression. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body, running from the back of your pelvis, through your buttocks, and all the way down both legs, ending at your feet. Makes sense as to the discomfort I feel; how I may have compressed the nerve, I don’t know. I’ll wholly admit that I’m clumsy, that I stumble, and I have in fact tumbled down a few stairs recently and turned my ankles any number of times walking on the crooked sidewalks in London.

I must say I’m disheartened by reading posts on the NHS (the national health care system) site from patients who have found little help or relief after months, sometimes years. Drugs (which I won’t do) and leeches (um, never) have been recommended. Some patients have found an alleviation of symptoms with physiotherapy. I’ve also seen some sufferers suggest Shiatsu massage and yoga (and thank you to the anonymous post about yoga—not a fan, but do enjoy Pilates). Several patients have found that cycling has been helpful—I think that means I need to make a better effort to get a bike on the Isle of Wight, which has been my intention for months.

I have asked Torben about exercises—he said to keep playing tennis and let’s see how the next session goes. I’m not 100% satisfied with that, but will accept it for now.  I am still walking well, have the occasional discomfort in my foot, and feel that odd tingling now and again in my left leg and arm—I don’t like that at all, and it seems to be either something I’d not noticed before or something “new” since my treatment. I keep thinking, heck, I’m too young for this!

Actually, reading other people’s stories, I’m not—in fact I’m older than most of them. And I’d like to think I’m more active—I walk quite a bit, even more on weekends when I take my long strolls to and from Gurnard; I take the stairs, not the lift, at work; I walk from the office to Angel regularly, and except for the last week owing to other events I’ve been playing tennis twice a week. I don’t sit at a desk all day, I don’t lie in bed for hours . . .

Enough. We’ll see what the next few weeks bring. In the meanwhile I’m very glad that I can still be active without discomfort—last time we were in Cowes Tim and I took a four-plus mile walk on Saturday and a 15-plus mile bike ride on Sunday, and I was comfortably able to do both—even though I was less pleased about the latter, where we found ourselves a bit isolated in Parkhurst Forest (but at least on a worn path, so we weren’t actually “lost”)!

I’m the eternal optimist, as you know; sometimes I think that’s half the battle!