I read an article that cited the statistic that 50% of 18-34 year olds regularly suffer from back pain. I know that nearly half of 40-49 year olds have evidence of arthritis in their back so I can understand 50% of 40-60 years olds suffering from back pain on a regular basis, but why are so many young people suffering from it? And is there anything we can do about it?
According to the article it all stems from the increased amount of time young people spend sitting. From school aged …

And the winner is….
Osteopathy! A new article (published January 3, 2012) compared the effectiveness of spinal manipulation with medications and exercises for neck pain. The medications in the study included aspirin, ibuprofen, muscle relaxants and narcotics.
Neck manipulation was proven to be statistically significant to medication at the 2 month follow up, and again at 3, 6, and 12 months, with nearly two thirds of people receiving neck manipulation reporting a 75% reduction in pain. The exercises (basic stretches and neck retractions) were also proven to be more effective than medications, …

So I’ve posted on this before, maybe even a couple of times. Do the findings on a medical scan (CT, MRI) really mean much? Maybe I always post about this because I myself am a bit dubious, but the research is really starting to support the idea. I suppose I started in on this because I didn’t always see people getting fantastic results after surgery and if the surgeon is looking at a scan and telling you your pain is coming from something he sees in the scan, and then …

Woohoo, here’s me looking proud as punch after being notified that I have been nominated to the list of Leading Health Professionals Of The World 2011. Can’t wait to tell mum and dad so they can brag to the neighbours…

Hello,
For those of you training for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (or anyone running in any event for that matter), over the next couple of months I’m going to share my thoughts on common injuries you might run into as you build up your training. I’ve recently written a book on this and before that gets published I’m going to leak a few excerpts. I’m going to talk about ITB Syndrome as this is a common injury for those of you stepping up your mileage.
Understanding: Iliotibial Band (ITB) Syndrome is …

So, I’ve got some good news, I met a girl. Intelligent, beautiful, funny, cool, amazing (first to admit I’m batting well above my average). Rocks my world. Brightens each and every day. Thing is, she lives in Singapore. And so, what’s a guy to do, right?
I’ve resigned from my Bondi Junction Clinic and will be moving to Singapore to start anew. My last day in clinic will be Wednesday May 25th.
I am passing on all of your files to a brilliant young Osteopath, Omar Mograby, who has been working in …

2 questions I am routinely asked are whether the fundamental principles of Osteopathy have ever been proven scientifically (ok, I made that up) , and whether I can do a treatment that will help people lose weight (I didn’t make that one up, I work in the Eastern Suburbs after all). A new article in Scientific American will help answer both.
“Osteopathy, that’s all about bones, right?”. Well, kind of. Yes, the prefix “osteo-” pertains to bones. And the suffix “-pathy” pertains to disease. The founder of Osteopathy, Andrew Taylor Still …

I recently read a review of “the adverse events” associated with manual therapy. That is to say, the bad things that can happen when you get a hands on treatment. An adverse event included both ‘minor’ events like feeling sore after a treatment, as well as ‘major’ side effects like nerve injury, paralysis, and stroke. I have listed the definitions at the bottom of this page.
Here is a summary of the data they collected:

The risk for adverse events after manual therapy were about the same as for doing exercise,
The risk …

If you haven’t yet heard, recent studies have shown that women can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Breast cancer is one of the cancers that has a strong genetic link, so for those who might be at a greater risk of developing it later in life, this is big news, as anything you can do to reduce your risk is obviously important.
According to Xanth Kleinig from The Daily Telegraph, “A major review of research by the World Cancer Research Fund blamed alcohol, lack …

In this study the investigators tried to assess which characteristics are related to the risk of being hospitalised in “older adults”. It has been established that as people get older they lose strength, but it is unclear whether having less muscle tissue necessarily means you are weaker per se, and it has also previously been unclear whether there are better ways to assess whether someone is at risk of being hospitalised. This study has answered those questions.
The goal of this study was to look at the link between “strength, function, …