What our patients say
What treatment’s like at Nimble
Wondering how osteopathy treatment can help you? We asked some of our past patients if we could share their cases as examples. We’ve also added a few testimonials to give you a little insight into what it’s like to get treatment at Nimble.
Patient Case Studies
Elaine’s swollen foot
- Symptoms: Neck and shoulder tension plus chronic foot swelling
- Therapist: Rachel
Legal Secretary Elaine’s symptoms were common for people who work at a desk all day. When I examined her, I found obvious tension around her head, neck and chest. I also noticed that she had an abnormally swollen left foot, which she hadn’t mentioned when I took her medical history.
While Elaine’s foot wasn’t painful, it was uncomfortable and she was struggling with footwear, especially in warmer weather. She told me that her foot had swollen after a foot trauma years earlier. Specialists had looked at it, but they’d not been able to help.
Looking at Elaine’s foot, the swelling suggested a lymphatic problem, most likely a response to the trauma. I knew that once damaged, the lymphatic system doesn’t heal well, but I suspected that if I could get the lymphatic drainage working all the way up Elaine’s leg, her symptoms would improve.
The Treatment
Like cars on the M5 on Friday night in the summer holidays, fluid in the lymphatic vessels can back up when they’re blocked or damaged. This fluid then accumulates in the tissues around it. The key is to find the back roads – other ways for the fluid to get out of the tissues into other lymphatic vessels. I needed to stimulate the lymphatic system by reducing the restrictions in Elaine’s foot, knee, hip and lower back. As well as using manual steopathic techniques, I also used dry needling (Western Acupuncture) on the foot muscles to promote muscle relaxation and stimulate general health. And don’t worry, I didn’t forget to treat her neck and shoulder tension too!
The pathway to recovery
Much to Elaine’s surprise and delight, her swelling reduced really quickly. Motivated by feeling less pain throughout her body, she used activity to improve her symptoms and stop them from coming back.
Elaine’s response to osteopathy is a great example of how osteopathic treatment can help with general health and well-being in all bodily functions by improving fluid circulation, be that lymphatic or blood.
“One very satisfied customer, my upper back and neck is no longer painful at all, but I come to see Rachel three monthly to keep it that way”
– Elaine Ponsford
Jacqui’s repetitive strain injury
- Symptoms: Acute pain in her left (dominant) elbow.
- Therapist: Rachel
When I first saw Jacqui, she had the worst repetitive strain injury (RSI) I’d seen in all my practice years. She was in acute pain and had been struggling with daily activities like brushing her teeth. She couldn’t even lift her hand to her mouth to eat – she’d been bending from the waist to bring her mouth to her food. Her arm was locked at 90 degrees and she was developing a stiff shoulder, neck and left wrist as the rest of her body tried to compensate.
For four years, Jacqui had been having cortisone injections from her GP and a course of NHS physiotherapy, none of which were breaking the cycle of symptoms and pain. In all honesty, it looked pretty hopeless, but we gave it a try.
Our breakthrough moment came as I took Jacqui’s history. Jacqui explained how, as a 5- foot-tall haulage company owner, she gripped the steering wheel when she drove her articulated lorries. Once we established that, we could quickly resolve her symptoms with simple treatment and advice.
The pathway to recovery
Jacqui describes her treatment best. “Rachel started with some really gentle exercises and acupuncture,” she says. “The exercises were for me to do at home on a daily basis. They were gentle, simple and very effective. Within a couple of visits, I was able to straighten my arm (that was something I had given up ever doing). Over the following couple of months, Rachel continued to work on my left arm and neck. I have now regained full movement in my left arm and gradually built the muscle tone back up to equal that in my right arm. I can’t thank her enough for her time and help.”
– Jackie Foster