Pacific Coast Osteopathy

21/07/2022

If you know anybody with type 2 diabetes, there's a good chance there are management options available for them that they don't know about. Comprehensive Care is a primary health organization that runs free management courses for people in the Waitemata region. They're specialist in this area and totally up-to-date in ways your GP may not be.

Please check them out if you or someone you care about has diabetes. They know what they're talking about 🙂

https://comprehensivecare.co.nz/services/diabetes/

Comprehensive Care offers free Diabetes Self-Management Education courses (DSME), dietitian-led supermarket tours, dietitian consultations and psychologist consultations. These diabetes services operate throughout the Waitematā region to improve the health and wellbeing of Diabetes patients. We wor...

26/08/2021

09/05/2021

Happy Mother's day everyone!
I'm very pleased to announce that Pacific Coast Osteopathy has opening it's doors at a new clinic in Torbay! Don't worry though; the Takapuna clinic is still running exactly like it was before, but now you have more options 🙂

If you or anyone you love *cough* like your mum *cough* is having any trouble with neck, back, or joint pain, or headaches, or strains and sprains, or pinched nerves, or even just feeling twisted up or uneven, then feel free to book yourself a time and I'll be more than happy to help!

www.pacificcoastosteopathy.co.nz
(it's 25% off this week for mums)

63 Cliff Road, Torbay

Pacific Coast Osteopathy is an osteopathic practice with clinics in Torbay and Takapuna, on Auckland's North Shore. An osteopath is a type of manual therapist.

24/03/2020

Given the heightened level of the Covid 19 response, I regret to inform you that Pacific Coast Osteopathy is on hiatus for at the least the next four weeks. In the meantime please look after yourselves and loved ones, and follow official Ministry of Health guidelines when doing so. We're all in this together, and it won't last forever.

More information can be found at www.covid19.govt.nz.

This website has everything you need to know about COVID-19 in one place. Learn the simple steps you can take to unite against the virus and slow its spread. Find out what help is available and get the latest updates.

25/02/2020

Sore back, neck, shoulders, or anywhere else for that matter? Feeling off and looking for a tune-up? We have spaces free this Friday afternoon at Pacific Coast Osteopathy!

439 Lake Road, Takapuna.
Book online here: www.pacificcoastosteopathy.co.nz

18/02/2020

What's the first thing you think (after "ouch!") when you've twisted your ankle, or strained or sprained anything else for that matter? It's probably RICE right?

RICE is an acronym. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. RICE has been around for over 40 years, and if you've ever done a first aid course it's probably the only thing you still remember.

Does it work though, and is it the best thing you can do for your particular injury? Unfortunately the answer is that it really depends on what you've done.

RICE is a decent first step if you've torn a muscle. The ice, compression, and elevation help to keep inflammation, and therefore pain, down. That inflammation is important for the healing process but muscles get so much blood anyway that the trade-off is often worth it.

Ligaments and tendons are a bit different though. They don't get nearly the same amount of blood as muscles do, so reducing the inflammation can really slow down the healing process. They also need as normal as possible use to help them heal properly, so between this and excessive rest your injury might not be healing optimally.

If in doubt, come and see us at Pacific Coast Osteopathy and we'll be more than happy to check it out for you. Your particular case might need a little more finesse than old-school first aid advice.

21/01/2020

Strains and sprains. They're the same thing right?

Well, sort of. If we're being pedantic then a sprain is the overstretching and likely tearing of ligaments, which are basically tough little bands of connective tissue that hold all your joints together. Strains on the other hand are tears in either the muscle or the rope-like things that connect ours muscles to bone called tendons.

Because they're very similar sorts of injuries, they tend to look pretty much the same. We're likely to see swelling, an inability to fully use the joint the injury is over, and pain in both cases. Bruising is more likely with a sprain, and muscle spasm is more likely with a strain, but they both tend to put a damper on your day in much the same ways.

So what do we do about them? It depends a little on where the injury is for a start. Generally though we aim to get you moving as normally as possible as soon as possible with the joint, because movements helps to keep the swelling down as well as make the issues heal more seamlessly. Keeping the range of motion up in the joint is really important, but if it's particularly bad we may strap it for protection to begin with.

Oh by the way - Pacific Coast Osteopathy is officially back and in Takapuna for 2020! Yay!

22/05/2019

Do you have pain or numbness in your hands when you're driving? Do you get a burning sensation in your arms when you lift them above your head? Does one or both arms ache when you turn your head to that side?

If so, there's a reasonable chance you might have something called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. That sounds scary because it has the word "syndrome" in it, but all it really means is that there may be something in your neck squeezing on some nerves, veins, or arteries (the yellow, blue, or red things in the picture below).

That might be your collar-bone, a rib, or a bone spur. Usually though, tight scalene muscles in the side of the neck and/or posture are the culprits and are easy to fix. So it you're just putting up with it and hoping it'll go away on it's own why don't you try coming and visiting us at Pacific Coast Osteopathy instead?

21/03/2019

Everyone has heard of sciatica, but what is it really? Since it affects approximately 40% of New Zealanders at some point in their lifetime it's probably worth taking a bit of a look at.

The sciatic nerve is like the highway of nerves that runs from our pelvis, into our gluts, and down the back of our leg.

Sometimes that nerve (or one of "on ramps" to that nerve) can get pinched, and when that happens we usually get pain or burning sensation in our buttock or the back of our thigh. We can also experience numbness or tingling in the leg or foot, as well as weakness in any of these areas.

Sciatica can be caused by anything that's capable of squeezing on the nerve, but the most common cause by a country mile is due a disk bulge in the lower back. Intervertebral disks are like a jelly filled water-balloon that separate the vertebrae in our backs, and if they bulge in the wrong direction it's easy for them to press on a nerve root. This is also known as a "slipped disk", a prolapse, or a herniation.

The good news is that most of the time a little hands-on therapy combined with the right management can really get on top of sciatica quickly. :)

15/03/2019

A few weeks ago it was kittens, and now it's puppies! We may not be able to treat your pets at Pacific Coast Osteopathy, but we are experts at rubbing tummys and scratching behind ears.

Incidentally, Boyd here is 9 months old and looking for a forever home. If anybody is thinking of adopting I'm more than happy to put you in touch with his foster parents. He slept quietly the entire session, so he seems pretty chilled out. Plus he's super cute!

22/02/2019

Some days it's hard being an osteopath. Other days you get to play with kittens. Today is one of the second kind 😻

12/02/2019

Struggling to find an Osteopath close to home? Pacific Coast Osteopathy is now open on Lake Road and we're more than happy to help with any injuries or ailments you might be carrying around at the moment!

Come and check us out at www.pacificcoastosteopathy.co.nz .

31/01/2019

Headaches can be a real pain in the neck!

There are many different types of headaches out there, but a reasonable chunk of them are caused by problems with the upper neck. We have nerves from the upper complex in our neck that run up to our head and scalp, and if the joints next to those nerves aren't happy they can cause irritation which leads to headaches.

The good news is that you don't have to suffer or live on a diet of painkillers. At Pacific Coast Osteopathy we love putting an end to irritating headaches. You can book with us online right now at www.pacificcoastosteopathy.co.nz, or hit the "Book Now" button at the top of our page!

We're also fond of puns. Sorry about that.

18/01/2019

18/01/2019