Osteopathy has much to offer professional and amateur sportsmen and women.
Sporting activity is of benefit to body functions such as breathing, the working of the heart and circulatory system, movement of joints and muscles. Sporting activities differ, and their impact on the body varies accordingly, but all have a beneficial effect on these areas to a greater or lesser degree.
A range of factors will have a bearing on the wellbeing of the sportswoman/man: the sport itself (perhaps involving strenuous use of a particular part of the body such as the arms or the legs); the level to which the sport is performed (professional, semi-professional, or amateur, and the frequency of training); where it is performed (indoors, outdoors, a mix) and the nature and quality of the equipment used (footwear, type of racquet). All of these are important factors.
Osteopathic advice can be of help – frequently in connection with simple factors usually known about but not always acted on appropriately. Proper consideration and application of this advice can make a big difference to health and comfort in sport and lead to the avoidance of most sports injuries. Typically these will include consideration of warming up before exercise and stretching afterwards, appropriate fluid intake before, during and after sport, and the correct approach to physical symptoms which may arise during and after sporting activity, such as pain, aches and stiffness.
Osteopathy is frequently of benefit following physical problems in sport and exercise. During an initial consultation Jerry would perform tests on the area where pain is experienced in order to find out what provokes the symptoms, and might also carry out an assessment of the whole body in order to try to establish what other factors may be involved. He would also be likely to discuss with you your approach to sport and training, and might offer advice if he thought changes could help you.