I have had a persistent back pain for a while now which is getting worse. It’s mid back and lower back.
Has anyone used an oestopath and are they any good?

I know people who think they are miracle workers and others that have been made much, much worse by an osteopath.

Scientifically speaking the evidence for their effectiveness is limited.

Look for a McTimoney chiropractic, they have always worked for me, less aggressive than most, but sometimes less is more . . .

Look for a McTimoney chiropractic

Quackery.

Always fix me 10x better than any physio I’ve been too!!!
I find I go every 6/9 months when I start to feel my lower back become very tight and limit my movement

Good Osteopaths are good. Bad ones are not. Don’t confuse them with chiropractors, who are indeed, masters of quackery.

Yes,

Well the one I used was brilliant.
He’s in leek if you’re in the northwest area…

Yes! They are (in my eyes) brilliant!
*sounds like a moany old woman* …. Arthritis in hips- bouts of pain reduced by MONTHS post treatment. Aggrevated lumbar disc settled after 4-6 weeks of treatment. Pretty good time frames I rekon compared to others with similar complications with their lower back. And very recent shoulder injury….couldn’t really drive 6 weeks ago but I’m riding bikes again now 🙂
As Onzadog has said though- go by word of mouth… A good one IS REAL good!!!

+1 onzadog

The only physical therapy I use is a (mountain biking) osteopath in Malvern. Who has, ahem, been known to post in here.

At 6’4″ your back becomes something you have to keep an eye on.

An osteopath fixed my lower back trouble. GP was scathing but didn’t help.

My osteopath has sorted me out. If you need a good one in Gloucestershire let me know.

Chiro sorted me out a few times a few years back; they emptied the wallet in my back pocket I had been sitting on…

A good chiropractor / osteopath is better than a bad physio

However I’ve seen a half decent chiro and a good Physio and have had more long term benefit from the physio

Word of mouth helps – if you’re Leeds based I’m happy to share my experiences

If you’re surrey based happy to suggest mine. He’s a cyclist too.

Sadly I think like with anything some are good and some are bad – I go to two physio’s and one is amazing but really hard to get an appointment with. The other is a firm of physio’s but they are 30% as effective as the other.

In my experience of at least 5 chiros, 2 oesteos, and 2 Physios for lower back pain – the Oesteo was far more in depth and have helped a lot. It’s a common misconception that a chiropractor is quackery but I wouldn’t agree, certainly for manipulation of joints in fact this can be fine by your GP. The quackery mantra comes from all the other stuff surrounding the health of the spine. However I would say chiropractors are the most vague at solving problems and certainly don’t spend much time after a while.

Physios were the least successful too me and very old school, in that they always get you to do more core work and don’t seem to be interested in much else.

Bottom line, still have a tight lower back, but manage it with Oesteo, lots of home massage using triggerpoint stuff and lots of lying down.

I can keep doing my 10-12 hours a week on the bike without much problem, but it’s never going away. The gp/NHS were useless and I quote , “whilst you keep doing what you are doing you will always have a tight spine/lumber.” Useful.

A good X is always better than a bad Y

Insert physio / chiro / osteopath for x and y

Muscle pain in general is due to bad movement patterns. If you fix the movement pattern then you will inevitably get rid of the pain or at the very least, learn how to release / relieve it. I was lucky that the physio I saw was pretty clued up and was able to teach me some strength and conditioning stuff. It was hard work sticking with it and basically learning to move again. Finally got to dealing with the root cause (a broken collar bone and the subsequent 20 years of bad movement) after relearning how to breathe, move, bend, rotate and stretch, and to use balls and rollers to release and massage tissue

There’s no quick and easy answer to fixing pain but if you get a good teacher, you’re half way there

As with all things they vary. I used to use a physio to sort my back till she got careless one day and made it worse. I now see an osteo, originally weekly after a bad episode, now for a six weekly check up to prevent episodes.

He’s been great – £30 a time he should be!

iirc, Osteopathy was the first non traditional medicine that was officially recognised

Mine is more likely to be from a combination of bad posture and some recent heavy crashes. I’m based manchester way so if anyone has a recommendations? What do you typically pay?

I pay £35 for about 45 mins.