We start with the subject that strikes so many osteopaths with fear and fascination:- Complaints: How many were there and what did people complain about in 2014? Yes 2014 seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it. NCOR have gathered information about “causes of concerns raised about osteopaths” from iO, GOsC and the insurers. So…
Guest spot this week: Mark Andrews of Kemptown Osteopathy in Brighton has kindly allowed me to use the full version of his review of Aches and Pains (an edited version appearing in the latest “the osteopath” magazine). He did in fact put me on to this book, written by a late, great physio called Louis…
When I first became an osteopath, I remember lots of people saying “Is it mostly old people you see?”. Funnily enough, it wasn’t. I didn’t see that many elderly people, certainly not a disproportionately large number. (If anything it was disproportionately fewer). But I know why people said it. It seems to be a prevalent…
As someone who couldn’t even work Facebook nine months ago, it came as something of a shock to find I was involved in a Twitter spat with Simon Singh, one of osteopathy’s fiercest critics. What next? A public fracas with Richard Dawkins? However several emails and a long phone call later, feathers were unruffled, a…
In February of this year, 2015, a team of researchers published a report into osteopathic regulation. You can sound knowledgeable by simply mentioning it as the “McGivern research”. They specifically wanted to find out how they could help us to practise in accordance with the OPS (Osteopathic Practice Standards). It’s quite a lengthy report, and…
In order to come up with a newer, cheaper, more sensitive test for a type of cancer, I would expect that you might need a degree at the least, followed by years of immersion in your chosen field, a lucky discovery and the support of a team of researchers. But it turns out you can…
About a year ago I responded to a recruitment ad in “theosteopath” magazine for new members to the Investigating Committee. However on receiving the information pack and the application form, I realised that applying for the post was a serious and time-consuming exercise – time I couldn’t spare just then – but more importantly I didn’t seem to…
Well the first disconcerting thing to note about this edition of the osteopath is that the cover photo looks a bit like Edzard Ernst, who I recently heard talk at Eastbourne “Sceptics in the Pub.” But I think this is simply meant to be a generic patient looking expectantly at their osteopath, as theosteopath follows…
You might have noticed that even though this is ostensibly an osteopathy blog, I venture off-piste quite regularly. This is partly as there is a wealth of innovation and research going on in related fields, which I think osteopaths should be aware of, but also as we have a marvellous opportunity to educate our patients. Not…
One of my patients used to run a health food shop which sold various herbal, homeopathic and assorted alternative remedies. One of the most annoying questions people asked her was “Does it work?” She likened it to a pharmacist being asked if paracetamol works. ‘Well, it does work for some people and some conditions, but it…
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