Helping hands

YOUR body doesn't want to be ill, says William Slann, and given half a chance it will do its best to recover. All an osteopath is doing is giving it a helping hand. I'm lying on a treatment couch at the Healing Clinic in Fulford Cross. William is holding one of my legs in the air and rotating it gently but powerfully, while his other hand probes at one of the vertebrae in the small of my back.

As he does so, I can feel subtle shifts in the pressures and tensions that run up my spine. It is wonderfully relaxing.

I've come because I woke up with a stiff neck, but William tells me he doesn't just treat part of the body.

So I lie there while he gently manipulates first my ankle and leg on each side, then my arms, and finally my neck. He probes and twists at my neck, moving my head from side to side until I can feel the thread of pain deep inside being somehow released. It's better than the deepest massage.

Osteopathy, says the website of the British School of Osteopathy, is an "established system of diagnosis and treatment that lays its main emphasis on the structural and functional integrity of the body. The osteopath believes that if the body is functioning to the best of its ability, then its own built-in healing mechanism can function effectively".

The way this is done, according to Peta Sneddon and Paolo Coseschi, authors of Discover Osteopathy, is by correcting mechanical imbalances within the body and restoring, maintaining and improving the harmonious working of the nervous and musculoskeletal system.

The osteopath uses various techniques of manual manipulation to achieve this, including soft tissue techniques and joint manipulation.

What he's doing, William explains as he gently levers my arm, is taking up the tension lines running through my muscles and ligaments.

"It's releasing these lines of tension in order to encourage alignment in the structures of the body," he says.

He doesn't do anything too vigorous or painful to me, but once I get off the treatment couch I feel pleasantly refreshed and relaxed.

William last year completed a four year BSc Honours in Osteopathy at the John Wernham College of Classical Osteopathy in Epsom, Surrey, and is now registered with the General Osteopathic Council.

The word osteopathy comes from the Greek osteon (bone) and pathos (to suffer) and so literally means suffering of the bone. Most people associate it with treatment of joint pain and things like bad backs.

It is great for those, William says, but it can be used to treat a range of other conditions, too - everything from glue ear, sinusitis, headaches and migraines to asthma and irritable bowel syndrome.

The reason for that is that osteopathy doesn't only work mechanically. It can also have a physiological effect, William says, by stimulating the nervous system to promote flow of blood to problem areas so that they get the nutrients they need and are able to dispose of harmful waste products. That then helps the body to heal itself.

Asthma is a good example. Osteopathy can help treat the condition in various ways, William says.

First, it can mechanically ease the strains on muscles that help with breathing. Often in people who suffer from asthma there is a change in the muscles in the shoulder and neck which control breathing. Other muscles tend to take over the job, and so come under strain - a strain which osteopathy can help address.

But it can also help reduce the inflammation of the lining of the lung which is a feature of asthma, William says. Manipulation of the spine and ribs can affect blood flow to the lung in such a way that the lining becomes less sensitive.

Osteopathy is particularly useful at this time of year. It can be used to ease the lower back pain which is a common result of the annual Spring rush into the garden. And, even more so, it can treat degenerative or non-inflammatory arthritis. This form of arthritis is caused by general chronic wear and tear of the cartilage in the joints, rather than by the body's own immune system turning on itself.

Many people suffering from degenerative arthritis at this time of year tend to find their symptoms easing, as the air becomes less damp and cold, William says. Despite this apparent respite, this is an ideal time to work with arthritic patients to ensure that when the next autumn and winter come around, they will suffer less than they did last winter.

One of the causes of chronic degenerative arthritis, William says, is that the flow of blood to the affected joint is impeded. As blood supplies nutrition and drains away waste products, this adds to the damage and wear and tear to the cartilage, which is one of the sources of pain and restricted movement.

Osteopathy can increase the motility - the quality of movement - of the joint, which encourages greater blood flow and hence provides more nutrients to allow the cartilage to regenerate, William says.

Osteopathy is not a cure-all for degenerative arthritis, the General Osteopathic Council stresses. But it can provide relief from pain and help improve quality of life.

William's aim when providing treatment is simple. "It is to give people greater mobility so that they can enjoy life again and go for a walk without being in too much pain," he says.

Which is all that many sufferers would ask.

William Slann holds osteopathy clinics at the Healing Clinic in Fulford Cross, York, on Mondays and Tuesdays. An initial session will take up to one and a half hours, including taking a full medical history. Subsequent sessions will last between 20-30 minutes, and cost £30. To book an appointment, call the clinic on 01904 679868.

Contact the General Osteopathic Council website at www.osteopathy.org.uk to find out more about osteopathy.

Updated: 09:13 Monday, May 05, 2003