I’m hardly likely to hit it off with someone who tells me to stay away from hamburger rolls and avoid coffee in the afternoons, but this man clearly knew his stuff. And he did go on to say that siestas were a good thing, which went some way towards his redemption. I was willing to give this a chance! To me osteopathy has always been “something to do with skeletons” – that was about it. So I was a little surprised to find out that there’s much more to it than bone analysis. My first appointment started with an indepth chat about diet and daily routines, and some medical questions that went beyond the world of rattling skeletons. Then came a basic nervous system test, which I was delighted to pass.

After that came some mobility tests and another alarming diagnosis that I’m hyper-mobile and the middle of my spine is reluctant to move. Then it was on to some elaborate and quite physical twisting and stretching – complete with the odd chirostyle manipulation – in an effort to loosen me up. And last, but not least, a good old-fashioned chat about what we’d discovered in the last hour. I walked out armed with some revolutionary thoughts about posture, as well as some truly different exercises to what I’d been recommended before. And so I learnt first-hand that osteopathy’s selling point is its all-round approach. There’s a key belief in addressing the underlying causes of problems – whether they arise through lifestyle or elsewhere in the body – rather than thinking about symptoms too locally. My layman’s impression was that it takes the best bits of chiro and physio, then adds a little more besides. For a more detailed run-down of the osteo philosophy, though, check out the website below.

To book a treatment in Cape Town contact Guy Ashburner on 0741 184 184 or 021 715 9999.
Visit www.osteogoodhealth.com for more details.

Celery, bok choy, rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.