Sevenoaks Medical Centre

Osteopaths at Sevenoaks Medical Centre are happy to treat patients with any condition listed above.

Rebound headaches

Rebound headaches are the result of taking too many painkillers. Osteopaths frequently see patients presenting with headaches. On taking a history it then emerges that the patient has a chronic painful condition such as arthritis for which they are taking large quantities of pain-killers on a continual basis. However, these headaches are actually caused by the analgesics themselves. One indicator suggestive of a rebound headache is that symptoms are worse in the morning right after waking. This is due to the pain numbing effect of the drug wearing-off overnight. Osteopaths will suggest that patients cut-back on the quantities of drugs they are taking and rather focus on the real cause of their complaint. If, for example, the issue was arthritis there are a number of non-analgesic supplements which can be taken as well as physical relief and exercises.

Fibromyalgia

Acute joint pain is often associated with fibromyalgia which is a disease of the central nervous system where normal, non-painful, neural messages are interpreted by the nerve receptors as pain. This leads to intense localised pain where there should be none. The symptoms of fibromyalgia include headaches, sleeping difficulties, poor concentration, stiff muscles and enervating tiredness. Some patients suffer occasional attacks allowing them to lead fairly normal lives. However, for chronic sufferers, this disease can gravely affect quality of life. There is no single cure, however much research is being done into various therapies to help ameliorate the disability associated with the condition. Osteopathic treatment is, of course, often used to treat the associated muscle pain and many practitioners combine this wiith acupressure or acupuncture to further relieve muscular pain.