Don’t be despondent if you’re told that you should expect a certain amount of pain for your age, or that it’s normal for you to have reduced movement. At Newent Osteopaths we often meet patients who have come to us as a last resort having been told that nothing can be done for them and they must live with pain. Osteopathic treatment may enable you to live a more active life with reduced pain and suffering.

Wear and tear seen on X-rays are not always the underlying cause of your pain and advanced arthritis can be managed well. You don’t have to put up with constant pain.

The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, also called degenerative arthritis, and it is reported that over 50% of people over the age of 65 suffer pain and disability as a result. This type of arthritis begins years before any bone changes are found on x-ray and is primarily the “wear and tear” arthritis associated with every day life. In many cases, your osteopath can help you to accommodate to this change in structure, perhaps by freeing up related joints so that they share more of the load, or even reducing the tensions in the muscles of the area to reduce the inflammation and pain - treatment has proven to be immensely successful. There are also lots of postural exercises and day to day tips that can help you to help yourself.

If you start having aches and pains in joints that you believe are normally are subject to osteoarthritis, and the pain has come on over a matter of days, weeks or a few months (and in some cases years), please don't just resign yourself to it. It could be something far more simple to deal with, so make an appointment with us for a full assessment.