do i trust my osteopath

[essexgirl58]

When I first went to the osteopath for my back i was told I had sciatica from a doctor. Osteopath disagreed and said it was a tight muscle. Then I asked if i should have an MRI due to the fact that back was still painful and was told no wont show up anything on a scan. My GP did actually send me for MRI and it showed up a spine issue bulging disc. The osteopath was wrong to say nothing would show up.

Also I was told not to do my exercise class as too high impac and not to run for a bus etc. My GP said my exercise class is fine and I can do it gently.

I now take anyting the osteopath says with a pinch of salt

Why are you still going there?

@NeverDropYourMooncup

Why are you still going there?

Because its only a 20 minute walk from my house and she has known me from the start so can see the progress I have made so far.

Having said that, I have to push the osteopath to tell me anything by asking questions and she gives me the answer. I do not find her very forthcoming with information. Like at my last visit, I asked her if swimming was a good idea and she said yes it is. She has never voluntarilly suggestd I go swimming

If nothing else, it's very possible that the osteopath caused the bulging disc.

She recommended against medical advice, attempted to discourage you from investigation that revealed something that could be worsened by manipulation - it's actually scary.

I benefitted from an osteopath years ago - but then I met one who firstly did neck cracking as a party trick in pub gardens (I refused point blank to get involved as whilst I had neck pain, I also knew the dangers of having somebody fucking around without a full medical history and checking for red flag symptoms). I found out later that he had been in trouble for insisting on performing high velocity neck adjustments after they'd been banned due to the risk of killing people - and his attitude was that this was a malicious prosecution and he knew it was safe.

In short, like anywhere, you can get incompetent, negligent and dangerous people working in osteopathy as anywhere else. Them being a mile away from your house makes no difference if they then completely fuck you up.

You need to stay away from this one.

@NeverDropYourMooncup

If nothing else, it's very possible that the osteopath caused the bulging disc.

She recommended against medical advice, attempted to discourage you from investigation that revealed something that could be worsened by manipulation - it's actually scary.

I benefitted from an osteopath years ago - but then I met one who firstly did neck cracking as a party trick in pub gardens (I refused point blank to get involved as whilst I had neck pain, I also knew the dangers of having somebody fucking around without a full medical history and checking for red flag symptoms). I found out later that he had been in trouble for insisting on performing high velocity neck adjustments after they'd been banned due to the risk of killing people - and his attitude was that this was a malicious prosecution and he knew it was safe.

In short, like anywhere, you can get incompetent, negligent and dangerous people working in osteopathy as anywhere else. Them being a mile away from your house makes no difference if they then completely fuck you up.

You need to stay away from this one.

no I do not think she caused the bulging discs. Bulging discs happen with age and there are threads on here from people who have bulging iscs and they have not got them as a result of an osteopaths negligence. Yes she should have told me to get an MRI scan to see what is going on before she treated me, but for that I had to go to my GP and one GP said no but a couple of weeks later, another one said yes so I got it done. I had a bad appointment with the osteopath before Christmas when she told me of for coughing just the once and suggested I may have covid. Then she said oh wel as you are here I will treat you and she gave me some accipuncture. Then I phoned the practice and said I was not going back until i had the scan results. Then because of her attitude to me I found another osteopath and booked an appointment. That osteopath came down with covid and could not see me and then she told me she was not accepting any new patients due to personal reasons an so that was the end of that and I returne to the original osteopath thinking that now I have a formal diagnosis she will be better placed to treat me based on the scan results. Someone did recommend me another osteopath but he was too expensie so I declined and then he said if you do not want to pay my prices you can go to the London school of osteopathy and the students can see to you for a minimal charge. That really put me off so I said no .

All I can say is that you can waste a LOT of money on osteopaths. You may get a good one, but more likely you can waste £000’s over time with no results. Exercise is probably more beneficial, if you’re careful and focus on correct form etc.

@Badnightguaranteed

All I can say is that you can waste a LOT of money on osteopaths. You may get a good one, but more likely you can waste £000’s over time with no results. Exercise is probably more beneficial, if you’re careful and focus on correct form etc.

Perhaps so but you need to find the correct exercises. The osteopath has told me the correct ones to do for my condition. Yes I have sciatica but general sciatica exercises are no good for me because I have to be careful about my back as i have bulging discs.

Whilst I agree there are good and bad osteopaths I disagree with anyone who points the finger at my osteopath and suggest she has caused my bulging discs. You should not go making such acusations

@Badnightguaranteed

All I can say is that you can waste a LOT of money on osteopaths. You may get a good one, but more likely you can waste £000’s over time with no results. Exercise is probably more beneficial, if you’re careful and focus on correct form etc.

I do not think you have any right to say that it is a waste of money. Some people who post on here who have seen osteopaths have said they have felt much better as a result. What would you say to that?

I didn’t say she caused your bulging discs ?!
What a strange interpretation of my post.

I would look elsewhere
I went with sciatica to a physio. She watched me walk in on the third treatment, refused to touch me and sent me for an MRI and told me to do nothing in the meantime

I had a massive herniated disc and cauda equina and needed 5hrs of spinal surgery

I'm not sure this osteopath is serving you well.

Perhaps pilates for your sciatica?

@Badnightguaranteed

I didn’t say she caused your bulging discs ?! What a strange interpretation of my post.

You said it is possible which is not factual and I read it wrong

@doadeer

I'm not sure this osteopath is serving you well.

Perhaps pilates for your sciatica?

I hope you are better now

@Badnightguaranteed

I didn’t say she caused your bulging discs ?! What a strange interpretation of my post.

I think OP has mixed you up with NeverDropYourMooncup who said

'If nothing else, it's very possible that the osteopath caused the bulging disc.'

I actually looked online for somewhere else to go and found somewhere not that far from my home. They are called spine plus. They have a youtube video on their website which I have just watched and they believe in DDT therapy. My current place do not offer DDT and when I akse about it, they say it is a very expensive treatment and not guaranteed to work so its a waste of money and when I spoke to the osteopath about it she was concerned that it would make matters worse. Anyway long story short, I phoned them today and someone will call me back on Monday to discuss my need and my concerns with my current osteopath and take it from there

You need to do exercises to ease sciatica. It often goes by itself when the bulging disc disintegrates and is reabsorbed by the body therefore no longer pushing on the nerve.

You may find particular exercises provide comfort, there are lots of videos on this.

Gabapentin might be good pain wise.

@doadeer

You need to do exercises to ease sciatica. It often goes by itself when the bulging disc disintegrates and is reabsorbed by the body therefore no longer pushing on the nerve.

You may find particular exercises provide comfort, there are lots of videos on this.

Gabapentin might be good pain wise.

I have been given exercises which I do. I did not know about bulging discs being reabsorbed by the body. My GP told me once they bulge they stay that way

Gabaprentine is a strong painiller and I do not need it. The pain is not that bad.

Unfortunately op like with a lot of things you get what you pay for. I'm not sure how expensive is too expensive but i pay £45 to see my osteopath for a 35-45min appointment.

I've seen a few different osteopaths & physio & I've had a range of bad - mediocre - excellent.
Bad - the physio who told me swim 40 lengths everyday to solve my back issue & sent me off after barely touching me.
Mediocre - physio & osteopath... Both didn't really "work" the muscles hard enough so always had a repeat appointment within the fortnight.
Excellent - the physio i had treatment from following whiplash & my current Osteopaths who i see about once every 3-4 months unless i do something stupid like fall down the stairs!

Your osteopath is not qualified to “diagnose” you with anything. They need to stay in their lane. An osteopath is trained to relieve tension by manipulating muscles and bones. They do not have the training or the equipment to make comments dismissing your GP’s suggestion about MRI’s, etc, and this kind of statement in this context is grounds for a review of their license to practice/registration.
The advice above about the bulging discs being reabsorbed by the body is utter nonsense and dangerous in this case. Bulging or herniated discs rarely self-heal. The chance of exacerbating the injury and causing serious nerve damage is quite high if you are being treated by someone with no understanding of your injury.
Personally, I wouldn’t touch this osteopath with a bargepole. (Same with chiropractors…) You need a Physio.

@Justilou1

Your osteopath is not qualified to “diagnose” you with anything. They need to stay in their lane. An osteopath is trained to relieve tension by manipulating muscles and bones. They do not have the training or the equipment to make comments dismissing your GP’s suggestion about MRI’s, etc, and this kind of statement in this context is grounds for a review of their license to practice/registration. The advice above about the bulging discs being reabsorbed by the body is utter nonsense and dangerous in this case. Bulging or herniated discs rarely self-heal. The chance of exacerbating the injury and causing serious nerve damage is quite high if you are being treated by someone with no understanding of your injury. Personally, I wouldn’t touch this osteopath with a bargepole. (Same with chiropractors…) You need a Physio.

how do I get a physio? I am on the waiting list from the NHS to see one but due to covid they have a backlog of patients to see from Augut and when I tried to chase this up I was told I might be seen in the next couple of months. I was told by the osteopath that Physios are no longer hands on and all they do is advise and give you exercises. Why do yu say she has no understanding of my injury? At the last but one appointment she too her mock up of a spine ornament an showed me that sometimes discs bulge forwards or sidwards and she did an xwith me by getting me to sit up on her bed and twist round the the right as if I am trying to look behind me without actually moving my body. She only did that once and on the last appointment she did not do that. I keep telling her I have spasm like pain in the very top of my leg near my groin area but that only happens if I move the leg to quickly and the spasm like pain only lasts for a second and she said move the leg slowly.

As for my dance/exercise class that I have been attending prior to this injury, she said it is too strenuous but the GP said I can do it wit caution. Who do I believe.? The GP said because it is being done in a hall and not outside then it is on flat surface but she would not recommend running up a hill or on uneven ground.

It might help on here if I try to say what happened prior to this back and leg issue. I got up and was perfectly fine. I went to go on a train journey for a day out and I was perfectly fine. I get to my destination and was perfectly fine. I walk around the town and then booked a walking tour of the area. The walking tour was one and a half hours long mainly on cobbled streets. I was wearing not high heels but 2 inches heels whilst on these cobbled pavements etc. It was at the end of this walking tour that I felt this sciatica pain and spent the rest of the day limping etc. I am convinced it was walking on the cobbles for so long in non flat shoes that did it. Before that I was in the same town but waling around on flat surfaces and had no problems whatsoever and was waling for over 30 minutes. This is my take on how it happened because before this i had NEVER had any pain in my back whatsoever. never slipped a disc and I have fallen over more than once and nevr injured my back.

I think the osteopath wrong regarding the MRI and bulging disk. But then I would nit ask that question to an osteopath as it’s out of their remit of practice.

I think your osteopath is right regarding exercise.
What the GP told you and what the osteo said aren’t incompatible so I’m not sure why you are taking that as a sign that the osteo is wrong again.

Exercise is generally good for back pain and the best advice one can give you is to carry in moving around/e recusing.
It is wrong to NOT be careful on what sort of exercise you do. I would have though that with a bulging disk, it’s clear that some movement can be more problematic than others tbh.

But the bottom line is that you don’t trust the osteo. So please don’t carry in seeing him. For your and their sake.

As for my dance/exercise class that I have been attending prior to this injury, she said it is too strenuous but the GP said I can do it wit caution

So…
Your GP is telling you to do it ‘with caution’ wo telling you exactly what you should and shouldn’t do. The result is that you are lost because you still don’t know what you should be doing (or not).
If someone was telling me that, I would stop altogether to avoid making things worse. Which is exactly what the osteo said.

Re seeing a physio. Just Google it.
You’ll find plenty of physios working privately around when you live. You dint have to wait for the NHS. Plus on the NHS you are likely to get a phone/video consultation with a vague explanation in what exercise to do. What it won’t do (which a private physio you see on a 1-1 basis can do) is correct your posture and the way you do the exercises.

My experience of osteopaths is that they are small businesses and they need your money. They might doing some good, they might be doing no more than a massage or they might be doing harm. It’s hard to tell.
I’d go with what your gp recommends

@Lunificent

My experience of osteopaths is that they are small businesses and they need your money. They might doing some good, they might be doing no more than a massage or they might be doing harm. It’s hard to tell. I’d go with what your gp recommends

My GP has not recommende anything. All she has done is put my name forward for physiotherapy on the NHS and I am still on the waiting list. That is why I decied to see an osteopath because I do not know how long I will have to wait for the NHS one and it could be another two or three months

Pay to see a private physiotherapist rather than waiting for the NHS. Will probably be cheaper than the osteo and will give you a far more holistic view.