When we first moved to Vancouver we joined a Crossfit class at the Evolution Gym on Richards street. Initially I was rather lazy and didn't see a great change and then breaking my leg skiing last year put me out of action for over 6 months. In the last three months I have increased my regularity of attendance at classes and the changes have been dramatic. I have lost to date 18 pounds in weight without significantly changing my diet and visits to the Alibi Room and Rodneys Oyster House. One of the priciples of Crossfit is to improve functional fitness and I am now noticing that my posture has been improved dramatically due to increased core strength. I am also noticing that i am using my knees more to bend down and pick things up as we have been doing so much squat therapy that this movement is becoming more hard wired into my nervous system.

 

Cross fit can be an intense workout but it can also be tailored to an individuals needs and abilities. If you are considering starting Crossfit but are worried about old injuries osteopathic treatment can help prepare you for training. Preventative osteopathy can also help identify areas of potential weakness and get you functioning to the best of your ability.

 I have recently had several complaints from patients regarding students of osteopathy who are claiming to practice osteopathy. For whatever reason it seems acceptable for students of osteopathy in BC to put on their business cards and websites that they offer osteopathy. Patients have recently complained that the treatment was not of a satisfactory standard and very different from that offered by qualified practitioners. I feel that this promotion is unethical and misleading to patients, and ultimately damaging to the good reputation of osteopathy. I do realise that students need to practice their skills but this should be in a safe supervised setting for the patient. As an undergarduate at the BSO the only place we could practice was in the clinic under the supervision of a qualified tutor. This allowed the student to gain experience treating patients but also allowed the patient to recieve high quality care from a qualified osteopathic tutor if required.

 

When you seek osteopathic treatment please visit a qualified osteopathic practitioner found on the www.osteopathybc.ca website where you can have confidence in their skill and qualifications. You will also be seeing an osteopathic practitioner who believes in regulation and patient safety.

About 18 months ago whilst attending an osteopathic conference in Devon I was made aware of femeroacetabular impingement (FAI)by the surgeon lecturing. Since then I have diagnosed this condition several times in patients with ongoing hip problems. Increased awareness of FAI has come about in the last few years as arthroscopic treatment of structural abnormalities of the hip have increased.

 

FAI has 2 causes

 

1). Decreased anterior head-neck offset of the proximal part of the femur (cam-type impingement). On Xray there is an increased offset angle. Larger cam lesions are associated with larger areas of cartilage damage and labral detachment.

2). Acetabular over coverage (pincer-type impingement)

 

Both types have been shown to benefit from arthroscopic repair. (JBJS Vol 91-A Number 1 January 2009 p.250)

 

How can osteopathy help with this condition? Firstly by being aware of it I can advise patients of an appropriate course of action. Many have had hip Xrays in the past that showed no significant arthritic change but the patient is still in pain. In the past the head-neck offset was not considered such an important radiological sign and this can be useful now in diagnosing the cam-type impingement. Secondly some osteopathic treatment can help relieve some of the symptoms by improving the functions of surrounding structures to relieve pressure on the hip joint. Osteopathy may help patients cope with some of the pain.

 

If you have had some ongoing undiagnosed groin pain an osteopathic consultation may help find the strucure causing the discomfort leading to treatment or appropriate referral for further investigation.

I had four good days skiing over Christmas up at Whistler. My leg held up pretty well and I didn't have too much pain. I have been rehabbing the leg with a lot of trips to Crossfit usually four times a week. Osteopathy can be very useful in the rehab process for your sporting injuries as osteopathic treatment can help improve range of movement and function following injury.

 

Just prior to Christmas I attended a useful lecture by Phillipe Druelle of the Canadian College of Osteopathy. It concentrated on some new techniques for the pelvis, sacrum and coccyx which will be beneficial for many of my patients. Most of them were based on osteopathic techniques developed by Sutherland looking at balance and function of the sacrum. They will be particularly useful osteopathic techniques for patients with pelvic torsion and sacral injuries.