OK it’s a long one, so you might want to grab a coffee before you sit down to read it. For the information of the uninitiated, everyone I know pronounces NCOR like N-Core, making it sound like a rap star, or a sciencey-term for a nuclear reactor or particle. I just entered NCOR as a…
People read what you write Prone to crumbling under pressure, and reduced to stammering out nervous gibberish when put on the spot, I am used to not being listened to, or at least not taken very seriously. However in the privacy of my own home, with only the hum of the fridge freezer and…
This edtion of IJOM includes a letter to the editor which looks like yet more debate about indirect/cranial/gentle interactive techniques, a couple of studies involving Prader-Willi syndrome and quite a bit about touch, patient experience and the complexity of osteopathy and clinical practice. There’s plenty to get our teeth into, plus the promise of learning…
The last NICE guidelines, which were indeed quite nice to osteopaths (along with acupuncturists and chiropractors), came into action around 2009/10. Now we have a draft of the revised guidelines, which should be published in September 2016. They are only guidelines, and doctors and therapists are not bound to abide by them. However they do…
One of the many great things I’ve discovered about blogging is the instant feedback. I have a page called “statistics” where I can see how many visitors I’ve had each day, and how many total views. I can also see what countries they are from (mostly from the UK, but countries from Finlnd to Saudi…
THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BODY, by Lucy Dunleavy Lucy, an old school friend of mine, has always been a talented artist and illustrator, along with running a successful massage therapy clinic in Brighton. To my delight I discovered recently that she has combined both careers and produced this stunning, original painting inspired by her…
I hope it’s not only me that reads Aches and Pains by Louis Gifford and thinks “What have I been doing with my life?”. Yes it’s humbling, but I console myself with the thought that we all have our own paths in life, and part of his was clearly to write the classic, seminal text…
Time and time again I read something about “cranial osteopathy”, which seems to describe something which is nothing like what I do. It is often assumed that we sit there “head-holding”. I saw a description this week that we claim to”magnetize the blood”. I’m not surprised that there is such confusion, even amongst osteopaths. I…
Ben Goldacre is a physicist and science writer. Along with Richard Dawkins and Simon Singh, he is a high profile advocate of rigorous scientific method, and is furiously exasperated at the dumbing down of science. This book is his attempt to educate the reader to look critically at science. He begins by conducting some…
Get evidence-based right here right now! A study has just been published, this one in the prestigious JAMA, which shows that exercise prevents low back pain recurring in the short term. This is not a groundbreaking idea, but nice to see it backed up with very convincing solid stats. Prevention of Low Back Pain: A…
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