Medway Osteopathic Clinic

26/03/2026

Location, location, location is the mantra for success, allegedly. :)
One of my brothers decided to wind down the amount of work he and his wife were doing as they were getting older and the kids had left home.
They sold the large house they had been running their clinic from - he was an osteopath, she a chiropodist - and rent a small shop in the high street while buying a small cottage in a nearby village to live in.
Of course, as the saying goes "men make plans and Gods laugh". They were swamped with work at their new site despite having been the only osteopath and chiropodist in the town for years.
After a few years they gave up and retired from looking after people. Now they look after their land.

I've been working from my house in City Way since 1988 and I'm not as busy as I used to be.
Perhaps it's time I moved to a High Street shop?

Your thoughts please

18/03/2026

Osteopathy and Meningitis.
We can't pretend to cure it.
Meningitis killed 400 people in Britain in 2025.
About 1 in 10 die once they become ill with it. In 2000-2001 about 2,500 died with it in Britain.
Bacterial meningitis used to be a constant problem for the Maori in NewZealand.
It was a plague in America after the Civil War, killing 3 of the children of Dr Andrew Tayor Still. He abandoned medicine, saying "How can I treat children suffering from this when I can't even my own alive?"
His studies in engineering that he went into after medicine triggered the formation of what became osteopathy.

18/03/2026

Any kind of systemic inflammation is going to affect every system in the body. It may manifest more in one particular anatomical area, but it affects the entire body.

Inflammation is tied in with arthritis and memory loss. Diabetes, high insulin levels, high glucose levels, disruption of the gut microbiome are all part of the inflammatory process.

We may feel healthy, but if this inflammation is raging inside of us, then we have a problem.⁣⁣
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So what is the best way to control inflammation while we’re still upstream? First, identify the triggers and causes of inflammation, and then help the body’s natural immune balance reset by providing the right conditions for it to thrive.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Everyone is treating the downstream effects of inflammation, instead of addressing the cause: multiple problems that are really linked together by inflammation.⁣⁣

If you don’t know where to start, I've put together a FREE guide to help you feel better fast, check it out: https://drhyman.com/pages/inflammation-fix-guide

17/03/2026

11/03/2026

Dr. Howard Luks
Yesterday at 12:01
·
I’ve been saying this for over 15 years, even when it went against popular opinion: MRI scans don’t always tell the whole story. Many “abnormalities” seen on imaging appear in people who feel perfectly fine, while others in pain show almost nothing on their scans.
Pain is far more complex than what appears on a picture. It’s influenced by inflammation, nerve sensitivity, stress, past injuries, sleep quality, and even our mental and emotional state. That’s why doctors never rely on imaging alone. A careful history, a thorough physical exam, and understanding the bigger picture of your life are just as important and sometimes even more so than what the MRI shows.
For older adults, this is crucial to understand. Pain doesn’t always mean your body is “broken,” and imaging alone doesn’t define your strength, resilience, or potential for recovery. Learning this can reduce fear, encourage movement, and help you take control of your health, rather than letting scans dictate it.

06/03/2026

I will now take bookings for 3:30pm appointments Monday to Friday.

I have been taking the odd one over the last few months and it seems daft to keep telling people I can't possibly.
I can't really use the old "picking the kids up from school" excuse anymore, not for the last 20 years :D

05/03/2026

If you constantly feel like you are running on 1% battery, it is incredibly easy in the US to just blame your busy schedule, grab another coffee, and push through the day.

But if your profound exhaustion is mixed with weird nerve symptoms—like your hands falling asleep or your balance feeling "off"—your daily energy drink won't fix the problem. You might be completely depleted of Vitamin B12, an essential nutrient your body requires to maintain its nerves and build red blood cells.

When your B12 gets dangerously low, your entire system starts to glitch. Here is what to look out for:

The "System Glitch" Checklist:

🔋 The Battery Drain:
You experience constant Fatigue and Weakness. Because your body isn't making red blood cells properly, you might also experience Shortness of Breath when simply walking up the stairs.

🧠 The Brain Fog:
You struggle with severe Memory issues or Brain Fog. It is also incredibly common to experience heavy Irritability.

⚡ The "Nerve" Warning Signs:
This is a massive red flag. You feel Paresthesia (Tingling or Numbness) in your hands or feet. As the nerve effect worsens, it can lead to an Unsteady Gait (balance problems) and a distinct Loss of Vibration Sense.

👅 The Mirror Clues:
Look closely in the mirror. You might notice a Pale Skin Indicator. Open your mouth—are you dealing with frequent Mouth Ulcers or a Glossitis (a smooth, beefy red tongue)?.

🇺🇸 Why is this happening?

The Diet: You have a Vegan/Low Intake of B12-rich foods.

The Meds: You take everyday Medications like Metformin or PPIs (acid reducers), which block absorption.

The Gut: You have an autoimmune condition called Pernicious Anemia, or you suffer from Malabsorption / Ileal Disease.

The Fix: Stop guessing and ask your doctor for bloodwork! They will look for specific "Lab Clues" like high MCV (macro-ovalocytes), low Serum B12, high MMA, and high Homocysteine to properly diagnose and treat you with supplements or injections.

Are you strictly plant-based, or do you take a daily antacid for heartburn? 👇



Medical Disclaimer:
This content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a clinician for proper blood testing and a diagnosis if you are experiencing neuropathy, chronic fatigue, or memory issues.

05/03/2026

The Medway Osteopathic Clinic is a private healthcare provider.
I am not NHS funded.
If you need help you have to pay.
Nobody funds - if nobody comes I close and sell the house.
I like working the way I do and it frees me to work in ways I can find to help each patient, each time.
I don't have to follow checklists and protocols from administrators who are not clinicians.
The basis of my work is ADJUSTMENT, of both you and your environment (diet ,lifestyle, whatever we think of between us -patient and practitioner).
Adjustment means moving you, not needles, massages, not talk therapy.
It does require me to do something though ,I will not just type into my computer and look things up on Google to tell you what you can read there.
I usually end up telling people they didn't read the right stuff :D

04/03/2026

"Taking care of sick people, inserting your life and skill into their lives, and allowing their lives and problems and tragedies into your life is the best way I know to live life to its fullest. No matter what good I have done for my patients, they have done more for me." Ray Shennan DC

03/03/2026

It's always interesting when people come in complaining about something that they don't think is in my scope of work, as though basic analysis isn't important before any work is done.
Doesn't mean anyone is always right (even wives!)
Dizzyness is often mentioned in passing.
Here's a few things considered when this happens:
What are the causes of dizzyness?
At first glance it’s a brain dysfunction so problems with the function and / or structure of the brain can cause it.
What can cause those?
Rupture of artery or vein in the brain can cause sudden onset dizzyness.
Raised intracranial pressure, distorting the brain structure as a result of failure of drainage can do the same, if slightly slower acting until it reaches a threshold level where total blockage suddenly applies.
Dropping blood pressure can do the same.
How else to affect brain function?
Toxicity, insufficient oxygen, insufficient carbon dioxide, insufficient glucose.
Insufficient oxygen could be a failure of the heart to output enough blood, obstruction of the arteries that supply the brain, failure of the lungs to transfer oxygen to the blood.
Insufficient carbon dioxide usually comes from overbreathing and blowing off too much CO2. A certain level of CO2 is needed to stimulate the arteries of the heart and central nervous system to open wide. Slight narrowing of those vessels dramatically reduces blood flow.
Insufficient glucose can come from disorders of digestion, hormonal problems (diabetes), problems with the liver.
Toxicity can be from localised infection, kidney and liver failure, sepsis and generalised tissue breakdown like seen with crush injuries and medication or other drugs.
Brain processing can be affected by all the above as well as emotions, history and habits as the brain struggles to come to terms with sensory inputs.
The eyes, middle ears and the nerves associated with them can contribute to dizzyness as well as the proprioceptive nerves that inform the brain of where the parts of the body are and what they are doing. :)

19/02/2026

I'm a classical osteopath.
That means my training emphasised the basics of my field.
In England that really meant what was taught prior to 1950 :)
Yes we had to study beyond then but bodies haven't really changed since then even if working lives have.
My job is to appreciate what your work and play does to your body, basically.
I might advise on exercise and diet (I'm part of a family that had internationals in all sorts of sports) specific to your needs.
I usually advise on cold water treatment and can bore for England on the subject of why evolution means it's good for you.
Mainly though, I pull you around and click joints.
I use a whole body approach to analyse what lies behind your problem and try to help you with that. This might not be what you think I should be doing but my excuse is I've been doing it for 43 years now.
Clicks and cracks don't fix bodies, they are there to free you up to fix yourself.
If you go out and hurt yourself again I probably didn't nag you enough to change your behaviour.

18/02/2026

The majority of patients come to me with low back pain.
The majority of those will benefit from using cold water on their backs.
NO ICE, NO HEAT.
The protocol is straightforward:
1Bowl of cold tap water.
Put a face flannel or small towel in the water, wring it out and lay it flat on the back, a little below to a bit more above the painful area.
2 minutes later take it off, dunk in the water a, wring out and repeat.
Do so for 20 minutes before bed.
2 minutes on, few seconds of while you wet it again.
This will reduce swelling while speeding up healing.
Good luck