A Patients own experience of a lifetime’s Osteopathy

Received from a patient who has been kind enough to share his experience.

“My experience with the benefits of Osteopathy commenced a long time ago in 1953 after a bout of Polio Myelitis had laid me low. On my discharge from hospital a friend of my parents suggested Mr Cowan (Blackfen – Osteopath) might help my restricted state (hardly mobile to any degree). What Mr Cowan was able to achieve was mobility and full participation for a sport loving young boy to enjoy life to the full for the rest of his life. How do you say thank you for that, I still say it every day just in case he can hear.

Like a lot of young people who love active sports I eventually managed to damage my lower back, by this time Mr Cowan had retired and attended Mr Peter Blagrave in Chislehurst for many years as I was now a married man and the bills had to be paid, he managed to keep me on track. Some many years later he retired to the West Country and Kate Ashworth took over his patients for her new practice in Orpington, and I transferred but thankfully my attendance was less frequent as I had listened to the advice on fitness exercises etc. My son, who had, and still has a scoliosis of the spine, added to the family records. The practice eventually moved to Keston.

I have always found a lot of not only physical, but mental reassurance from Osteopathy; the disturbing pain and restricted mobility of physical injury is not helped by being masked with muscle relaxants and pain killers. It requires the gentle sure touch of experienced hands to return the body slowly and gently to full mobility over a course of treatment and maintained as required by possibly the occasional visit, but quite often listening to some good physical advice, and following – simple but true.  I know because I was very close to being in a wheelchair for life all those years ago but for Osteopathy.

The advice I had over those many years still rings true, but I know where I have to go when I manage to damage my body yet again on some ridiculous task. So I wish Kate Ashworth and her team success in her new premises at Bromley Park Medical Centre.”

BW