Herbal Osteopathic Life

14/10/2025

🌿 World Menopause Day – October 18th 🌿
Theme 2025: Improving Health and Wellbeing

Menopause is a natural stage of life that every woman will go through — but it can sometimes feel confusing, isolating, or overwhelming. Understanding what’s happening in your body and knowing where to find support can make a huge difference. 💛

✨ Did you know that around 30% of women are going through menopause at any one time?
You’re not alone — and support is available.

There are over 40 recognised symptoms of menopause. You may only experience a few, but even these can affect your daily life. Small changes — like taking the right supplements, staying active, keeping hydrated, and eating well — can all help to ease symptoms.

As both a Medical Herbalist and Osteopath, I offer a natural, supportive approach to perimenopause and menopause that can help:
🌸 Balance fluctuating hormones
🌸 Calm the nervous system
🌸 Improve sleep
🌸 Support physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing
🌸 Restore balance during this transition
🌸 Ease brain fog

If you’d like to understand your own menopause journey and discover how Herbal Medicine and Osteopathy can support you, I’d love to help. 💚

📍 Clinic Locations:
• The Rehab Hut, Leigh – www.therehabhut.co.uk

• The Olive Clinic, Stockton Heath – www.theoliveclinic.com

📞 Contact:
Catherine Wasik BSc (Hons) Ost; BSc (Hons) MNIMH
Registered Osteopath & Medical Herbalist
📱 07828 261152

18/09/2025

Living with osteoarthritis can make everyday activities feel like a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

At The Rehab Hut, we offer gentle, hands on osteopathic treatment to help reduce joint stiffness, improve mobility, and ease discomfort. By addressing the way your body moves and functions as a whole, we support your joints and help you stay active and independent.

Whether it’s your knees, hips, hands, or spine, we’re here to help you move more freely and live more comfortably.

Let’s improve your daily quality of life, naturally.

Book now through our website www.therehabhut.co.uk

The Rehab Hut
Graveoak Lane
Leigh
WN7 3SE

18/09/2025

Whether it’s a sprain, strain, tendon injury, or joint dysfunction, our goal is to restore mobility, reduce pain, and support the body’s natural healing process.

We use hands on techniques to improve tissue quality, joint alignment, and circulation. Alongside treatment, we tailor rehabilitation programs to strengthen the body, prevent re-injury, and get you back to peak performance safely and confidently.

Your recovery is our priority.

Book now through our website www.therehabhut.co.uk

The Rehab Hut
Graveoak Lane
Leigh
WN7 3SE

27/08/2025

🌱 Research seeds 🌱
Valerian and hops: Improved sleep duration

Sleep medication, such as benzodiazepines, can impair attention and memory. This clinical study explored whether two sedative herbs, valerian and hops, improved sleep and cognition.

🔗Read the full summary via: https://www.herbalreality.com/herbalism/herbal-research/research-seeds/valerian-and-hops-improved-sleep-duration/

21/08/2025

Herb of the Month

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
Natural Support for Calm, Sleep & Hormonal Balance

🌸 What Is Passionflower?
A beautiful climbing plant with calming properties, traditionally used to ease anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia. It gently supports the nervous system, especially during times of stress, hormonal change, or nervous exhaustion.

🌿 Key Benefits:
• Promotes relaxation and better sleep
• Helps ease anxiety, palpitations, and tension
• Supports women during menopause and PMS
• Nourishes the nervous system in times of chronic stress

🫖 How to Use:
• Tincture (liquid extract – often combined with other herbs)
• Herbal tea (a soothing bedtime option)
• Capsules (for convenience)

⚠️ Safety Notes:
• Safe for most people in moderate doses
• May enhance sedative medications – check with a practitioner
• Avoid in pregnancy unless advised by a qualified herbalist

🌿 As a Medical Herbalist…
• I often combine Passionflower with other herbs tailored to the individual’s needs—whether to support sleep, soothe menopausal tension, or manage stress-related conditions. Every person is unique, and so should be their herbal prescription

🌱 Looking for Natural Support?
Catherine Wasik BSc Hons Ost; BSc Hons MNIMH – Registered Osteopath & Qualified Medical Herbalist
📍The Rehab Hut, Leigh | The Olive Clinic, Stockton Heath, Warrington | George Morris Physiotherapy, Hindley
🔗 www.herbalosteopathiclife.com and page Herbal Osteopathic Life
📞 [07828261152]

14/08/2025

🍭 Sugar vs Sweeteners — Is there such a thing as a “good” sugar?

We all know sugar isn’t great for us… but why? 🤔

Cutting back on sweet treats isn’t just about weight loss — it’s about protecting your mind and body. Stable blood sugar can:
✅ Boost mental clarity
✅ Reduce anxiety & cravings
✅ Help you feel sharper and more energised

Frequent spikes & crashes, on the other hand, can cause brain fog, mood swings, and stress-related cortisol surges. This is especially important for women dealing with PMS, endometriosis, PCOS, menopause, or pregnancy.

🚨 The real dangers of high blood sugar:
Over time, too much sugar doesn’t just expand your waistline — it can damage blood vessels and tissues, raising the risk of:
❤️ Heart disease & stroke
🧠 Nerve damage (neuropathy)
👀 Vision problems (retinopathy)
💪 Weakened immunity
🩺 Insulin resistance → type 2 diabetes
🍏 Fatty liver disease

🍯 “Good” vs “Bad” sugars
Our brains love sugar because it triggers dopamine (our feel-good hormone) — but it also causes glucose spikes your body has to control.
Natural sugars in fruits & veggies are fine in moderation, but processed foods often hide added sugars under sneaky names like:
Agave nectar • Cane juice crystals • Brown rice syrup • Evaporated cane juice • High fructose corn syrup • Maltodextrin • Treacle • Xylitol… (the list is LONG!)

🚫 Labels like “organic” or “no added sugar” can be misleading — always check the ingredients.

⚠️ A note on artificial sweeteners:
Aspartame, sucralose, ace-K, maltitol, saccharin, and similar products are technically “approved”… but many report headaches, digestive issues, cravings, and mood changes. Aspartame in particular is suspected of affecting the nervous system — so avoid where possible.

✅ Better sweetener choices:
If you still need a little sweetness without the blood sugar rollercoaster, try:
🍃 Monk fruit
🌿 Stevia
✨ Erythritol
🌱 Allulose

I will be posting the full list of hidden sugar names on my website herbalosteopathiclife.com in the next few days so keep your eyes open for more information.

20/06/2025

The wonderful dandelion ❤️

🌞🥗🍎🍉🍌🌞🍀🍀🤠🙏💛
Amazing. Now we know why monsanto went after the dandelions:

"Just one leaf of this herb, found in every garden, can save your life in a minute, but only some people know how to use it!

It kills up to 96% of leukemia cells in just 48 hours!

Nature itself has many effective health remedies. You may not know the presence of many effective plants, but in fact, they are located right in your garden.

When it comes to leukemia, many of us are the first to equip ourselves with medication, chemotherapy, poor quality of life and overall misery.

Here’s all the info you need to know about the roots (and leaves) of a dandelion and what it can do for people battling leukemia.

Recent studies have shown that the dandelion root is cytotoxic against three types of human leukemia cells and it destroys up to 96% of cells in just 48 hours!

Dandelion tea affects cancer cells by breaking down within 48 hours and stimulating the growth of new healthy cells in the patient's body.

The study was conducted by Dr. Hamm with his students.

They removed blood cells from 9 different patients who used root extract and applied it to several cells to cultivate them. Within 24 hours, the cells were killed.

There have also been a number of other studies to find that dandelion extract can have potentially effective substances against cancer, melanomas and prostate and breast cancer.

Other properties of dandelion root/leaves...

Dandelion root/leaf extract has been used for centuries as an effective healing agent in traditional folk medicine.

Anemia...

Dandelions have a fairly high content of iron, vitamins and proteins. While iron is a part of hemoglobin in the blood, vitamins like vitamin B and proteins are important for the formation of red blood cells and some other blood components. A dandelion can help with anemia.

Strong bones...

Dandelion is rich in calcium, which is essential for bone growth and strength, and is rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C and luteolin, which protect bones from age-related damage.

Diabetes ...

Dandelion juice can help diabetics by stimulating the production of insulin from the pancreas.

Prevents urinary tract infection...

Dandelion can help prevent urinary tract infections, as well as bladder and kidney disorders, or even cysts on the reproductive organs.

Cleanses the liver ...

Vitamins and nutrients contained in the dandelion help to clean the liver and ensure their proper function. Dandelions help our digestive system by maintaining proper bile flow. Dandelion is also rich in vitamin C, reduces inflammation and prevents disease.

Digestion Assistance...

Dandelion acts as a mild food that promotes digestion, encourages appetite and balances natural and beneficial bacteria in the intestines.

Skin care . . .

Dandelion juice is also used to treat skin diseases caused by microbial and fungal infections. The juice is highly alkaline and has insecticidal, bactericidal and fungicidal effects.

This juice can be used for itching, shingles, eczema, etc."
🌞🏝️🏝️🥗🍎🍉🍌🍀🍀💛❤️🤠🙏

28/04/2025

https://www.herbalosteopathiclife.com/post/what-is-sarcopenia

This Month’s Newsletter: Focus on Sarcopenia

This month, we're highlighting sarcopenia — the natural, age-related decline in muscle mass and strength.

While some muscle loss is a normal part of ageing, this newsletter explores how we can look after our bodies, stay active, and manage our health to prevent excessive muscle loss and maintain strength and vitality for longer.

Sarcopenia: Understanding Age-Related Muscle LossWhat is Sarcopenia?Sarcopenia is the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function as we age. It can lead to reduced mobility, an increased risk of falls, and a decline in overall quality of life. While it often begins around the ag...

21/04/2025

Herbal Antispasmodics

An antispasmodic is a substance that relieves spasms or cramps. Some examples are Petasites, Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobilis), Skullcap (scutellaria lateriflora), Black Cohosh (Actea racemosa), Wild Cherry Bark (Prunus virginiana, P. serotina) and Jamaica Dogwood (Piscidia piscipula). Herbs with an acrid taste often indicate antispasmodic activity.

Petasites aka Butterbur (Petasites hybridus) is an effective antispasmodic for respiratory, uterine or gastrointestinal spasms, but it contains high levels of hepatotoxic pyrrolizadine alkaloids (PAs). Only the PA-free extract is appropriate for internal use.

Roman Chamomile is indicated for cramps of the uterus (dysmenorrhea) and large intestine (IBS). This herb is less pleasant tasting than German chamomile, but has stronger antispasmodic activity.

Skullcap is useful for back and neck spasms, torticollis and TMJ spasms. It is especially indicated for people who when they get stressed out develop spasms, tremors, palsies or fly off the handle anger.

Black Cohosh inhibits bronchial spasms associated with asthma, pertussis, spasms of the diaphragm, hiccoughs or spasmodic bronchitis. It is also used for back spasms, menstrual cramps and testicular spasms.

Wild Cherry bark is indicated for spasmodic hacking coughs with excess mucus and dyspnea.

Jamaica Dogwood is one of the strongest non-narcotic herbal analgesics as well as an effective antispasmodic. It is a useful remedy for spasmodic cramps with pain for conditions like dysmenorrhea, gallbladder spasms, IBS and torticollis.

This blog is intended as an informational guide. The remedies, approaches and techniques described herein are meant to supplement, and not be a substitute for professional medical care or treatment. They should not be used to treat a serious ailment without prior consultation with a qualified health care professional.

18/04/2025

As we come to the end of World Osteopathic Healthcare Week it’s great to remember osteopaths perfectly fit into the role of health professionals who are competent at treating a wide range of musculoskeletal issues for all ages

Today is day 4 of World Osteopathic Healthcare Week!

WOHW is a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about osteopathy’s role in healthy ageing, ensuring that people of all ages recognise the benefits of preventive and rehabilitative care.

Get involved by sharing these messages!

Find out more > https://www.iosteopathy.org/world-osteopathic-healthcare-week-2025/

15/04/2025

It's World Osteopathic Healthcare Week! 🎉

Did you know osteopathy is a gentle, non-invasive treatment that goes beyond just symptoms to find the root cause?

Catherine uses a variety of techniques to help with persistent pain, stiffness, and discomfort. We treat conditions like:
Back Pain & Postural Issues
Sciatica & Nerve Pain
Knee, Hip, Shoulder & Elbow Pain
Headaches & Migraines
Sports Injuries & Sprained Ligaments
Stress & Tension Pain
Pregnancy & Postpartum

Don't wait until you're in pain! Learn how osteopathy can help you move better and feel better.
There are 3 clinics from which Catherine practices from:

The Rehab Hut, Grave Oak Lane, Leigh, WN7 3SE
07850162755; therehabhut.co.uk

The Olive Clinic, Whitehouse, Greenalls Ave, Stockton Heath, WA4 6HL
01925 202 668; theoliveclinic.com

George Morris Physiotherapy, 154 Market Street, Hindley, WN2 3AY
01942 722600