Osteopathy and Me
http://www.forme-cfs.co.uk/osteopathy&me/introduction.htm#top
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It was in 1989, after seeing a few patients who all suffered with similar back problems, and had also been diagnosed with CFS/ME, that I noticed a clear pattern emerging. All these patients had a long term postural problem affecting the upper spine. This region is the centre of a nervous system known as the Sympathetic Nervous System, which helps control blood flow, the immune system and the functioning of the internal organs.
Many of the patients were not even aware of a postural problem before I had examined them. Not all CFS/ME patients complain of back pain. However, this finding led me on a long investigation to uncover the latest research on CFS/ME from around the world. Slowly but surely the evidence fitted together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which has helped form my theory. This led to a scientific paper being published in 1993 which lay the groundwork for further research. I am at present involved in a major project at the University of Salford. This information booklet will explain to you the basis of my theory, and give you some advice on how to help alleviate this terrible disorder. However it is not a treatment manual. The advice given in this publication must be carried out together with the appropriate osteopathic treatment. Any exercise routine should be checked with your osteopath before commencing. The £10 cost of this booklet is helping to fund the Salford research project mentioned above. Many ideas have been put forward to explain the cause of CFS/ME, but as yet nobody has offered a universally accepted theory that has led to a successful treatment programme. As an osteopath, trained in the manual diagnosis and treatment of the body, I believe that I have discovered a probable mechanical cause of this disease. The full details of my work will be contained in a book which will be published after the research project has finished at the end of 1996. The concept of CFS/ME being a mechanical problem is completely new to most of the medical profession, and thus I have spent over six years researching the facts, finding plenty of scientific evidence to support my hypothesis. To my knowledge I was the first osteopath to specialise in the treatment of M.E. However there are thousands of skillful practitioners who, with education and guidance will be able to help many more sufferers of this debilitating disease. I have already begun a series of lectures to educate other osteopaths throughout the country in my treatment methods. To summarise my theory, and to simplify the scientific principles behind my hypothesis, I have used an analogy. I have termed this illustration ‘The Power Station Analogy’ (see Fig.2)
CFS/ME displays all the signs of an impaired communication between the central nervous system, the internal organs and the muscular-skeletal components of the body. This organ of communication is the sympathetic nervous system. In our homes and at work, we use many electrical appliances. We light our houses, cook, freeze and do most forms of housework utilising some kind of electric gadget. The energy to run these appliances is produced by the power station and is monitored by a controller in a transmission station, who channels the amount of electricity through to us, the consumers. Now if we were all to suddenly use more electricity simultaneously, then the transmission station would allow more electricity to flow, signalling the power station to produce more energy. This occurs in Britain during half-time in a televised cup final match, when everybody turns on the kettle at the same time to make a cup of tea. If something was wrong with the operator, or the actual equipment in the transmission station was faulty, then the power required to cope with the increased demand would be insufficient. This would eventually lead to a power cut. Also if the situation arises when too much electricity passes into the household’s supply then an overload, or power surge can cause damage to the appliances used at that time. In the body the muscles are the main ‘electrical appliances’, utilising most of the energy produced. The power station of the body is the gastro-intestinal system together with the respiratory system, which consumes fuel in the form of food and utilises oxygen to produce the energy. The sympathetic nervous system is the transmission station of the body, which connects the visceral ‘power stations’ to the musculoskeletal ‘appliances’. When we are active, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates an increase of energy production, and a release of stored energy. If this is not accomplished, the result would be that the muscles would not receive the nutrients normally obtained from the blood, and the natural function of the muscles, nerves, and joints would break down. There will in effect be a ‘power cut’ in our body and we would suffer symptoms of fatigue. This illustrates what seems to occur in patients suffering from CFS/ME Their bodies are crying out for more energy, especially when under any form of stress, mental or physical. However the mechanism normally operated to transform the stored energy into a usable form is not functioning, and thus the patient’s body simply stops working correctly. This explains why CFS/ME is such a debilitating disorder, and requires as much rest as possible to reverse the process, by minimising the amount of stress to the body. Reducing the demand on the sympathetic nervous system helps begin the road to a full recovery. My own hypothesis does not rule out the possibility of viruses being involved in the pathology of CFS/ME What I believe actually occurs is that the sympathetic nervous system’s dysfunction leads to a reduction in the performance of the body’s immune system. This in turn results in the body as a whole being susceptible to viral infections of more than one type. This has been confirmed by many different research projects around the world which have linked several distinct types of viruses to the disease. The conclusion reached by these scientific projects is that CFS/ME is a disease of the immune system and not caused by one single virus. However they do not know exactly how the immune system breaks down and this is at present being investigated. Eventually they will discover the sympathetic nervous system lies at the heart of the problem. Osteopaths can improve the functioning of the sympathetic nervous system by manual treatment to the musculoskeletal system. An important region to concentrate on is the upper back and thorax. It is this area that has the largest concentration of sympathetic nerves and it is from the thoracic spine that the sympathetic nerves emerge from the spinal cord. All the patients with CFS/ME that I have seen have a complication with the mechanics at this region, whether it be a long term postural problem, or an old injury. The impediment can easily be detected by a trained osteopath and need not cause any pain. Often the patient has no back ache, even in some cases of severe postural imperfection. The patients with CFS/ME that I have examined possess postural and mechanical problems that can be restored to good working order and lasting relief. Some improve quite dramatically with only a few weeks of treatment, although this is very much the exception rather than the rule. Most of my CFS/ME patients have long term postural problems that take months to correct. On average, the patient feels a definite improvement in the symptoms after two months of therapy. Some unfortunate patients who have severe arthritic conditions may have permanent irritation of the sympathetic nervous system that will never be totally relieved by osteopathic methods. Many patients will require additional forms of therapy to help in the battle against this disease, but a patient who has CFS/ME must deal with the physical aspect of this disorder otherwise they are ignoring a major causative problem, and will reduce the chance of a complete cure. Even the worst cases of CFS/ME can be helped by the mechanical approach. Last year I was called to a man in his mid twenties who was bedridden for four years with CFS/ME He was unable to read or write and found any activity a great uphill battle. On examination I discovered that he injured his back severely when aged 13 and presented with major spinal problems including a partial dislocation of one of the vertebrae in his spine. Unfortunately these spinal problems were never dealt with years ago and thus he slowly began developing many symptoms of CFS/ME As the condition advanced he continued to follow his doctor’s advice and exercise, play football etc. He was never diagnosed as having the disease until he collapsed. I began the course of physical treatment which was continued by a friend of the patient who was a physiotherapist. One year on and he is now able to stand and conducts his business from a chair at home. He can read and write and although still weak, he has much more energy than when I first saw him. This case demonstrates that the patient must never give in and with the correct treatment then even the worst cases can benefit. It also shows that physiotherapists can administer part of the required treatment, as some of their methods are similar to osteopathy. Of all the CFS/ME patients that I have seen so far, no two are exactly the same. However they all share certain common physical attributes that can be properly assessed by the trained practitioner. These common structural signs cannot be dismissed as pure coincidence. In the following section a number of these cases are chronicled, with the permission of the patients concerned, although their names have been omitted to protect their anonymity. To be perfectly honest when I first came across CFS/ME patients, as with most practitioners, I hadn’t the faintest idea that I could help. I was only able to give them my professional commitment to try and do whatever was possible. Without a definite diagnosis in most of those early cases I returned to the age old osteopathic concept ‘treat whatever you feel to be out of balance’. As the following examples demonstrate, the common structural problems shared by these patients were treated mechanically, bringing about a relief in their symptom picture. |
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