Case history: backache
Kristi
Kristi came to see Mandy during the very late stages of her second pregnancy. She already had a two year old daughter, and had been experiencing back and neck problems for which she'd had some physiotherapy. Interestingly, Kristi's physiotherapist was herself having osteopathic treatment, and this prompted Kristi's initial interest in osteopathy.
Kristi heard about Mandy through her pregnancy yoga class, and booked a first appointment in the 37th week of her pregnancy.
"My first impression of the Practice was that everyone was really nice and the location is great. I felt really comfortable, and Mandy was very calm and relaxing, and very thorough".
Kristi described to Mandy the pain in her lower back, buttocks and hips, and numbness down her left leg. She explained that had trouble walking and lifting her daughter, and her right hip hurt at night, waking her up.
On examination, Mandy found that Kristi was very tender in her lower back, and her pelvis was unbalanced. Although she was strong on the left side of her body, she found it difficult to twist to the right. Kristi seemed to find carrying her toddler on the left hand side more comfortable, and her body had adapted to that. But the additional load of her growing 'bump', combined with the pregnancy hormone 'relaxin', which was softening her ligaments, was more than her lower back could cope with. Mandy focused her treatment on balancing Kristi's pelvis and right and left sides to optimise healing in her lower back.
Immediately after her first treatment, Kristi found that she was able to get up from the couch with very little pain; something she hadn't been able to do for months. During the week after her first treatment, Kristi says,
"I honestly didn't feel an immediate improvement. That first week, the pain was still there but then after the second treatment it virtually disappeared. I only needed three treatments in all".
"What I really appreciated was that Mandy didn't simply treat my symptoms, she also suggested practical day to day changes in how I did things like, picking up my two year old daughter; which was really helpful".
Kristi was so pleased with her experience at the Practice that she brought her new daughter back in for a newborn check with Chris Johnson as soon as she arrived!
