As a bit of fun this month, I have asked all our staff members to pose questions to myself (Angela Cavil) about my work as an osteopath. Hopefully you will find it interesting- if not just skip this section!

Q- What made you choose osteopathy as your career?

A- Osteopathy was unknown to me until a career convention in Cardiff in 1983/84. It appealed to me because as well as diagnosing and treating patients, I would have the independence of running my own clinic. The rest as they say is history.

Q- How do you feel about your career all these years later?

A- I am very fortunate in being able to say I love my work. There are never two days the same in this job and there are never two patients the same. I would like to think that I am as enthusiastic today as I was when I embarked on my career in 1988.

Q- Have you ever treated anybody famous?

A- I am not able to disclose names as all patients’ identities remain confidential but I have treated a few politicians, a famous actor, some radio presenters, a football player and some rugby players over the years.

Q- If you had to choose someone famous to treat, who would it be?

A- The first person to come to mind is Stephen Jones who used to play no.10 for Wales. He always looked so stiff, especially in his upper back, and I always felt I wanted to manipulate him when he lined up to take a kick at goal! I would like to examine Dan Biggar who seems to be having a lot of trouble with his back at the moment.

Q- What is the difference between an Osteopath and a Chiropractor?

A- I am often asked this question. After speaking to several chiropractors, the main difference in my opinion is that a chiropractor will aim to get everyone’s spines straight i.e. no lateral curves or over-exaggerated AP curves, whereas an osteopath will aim to improve the function of the spine as well as peripheral joints. From a patient’s perspective, the number of times that you will on average see an osteopath is 3-6 sessions compared to 40 or more sessions with some chiropractors.

Q- How many associates have you worked with at Pontypridd Osteopathic Clinic over the past 35 years?

A- Kim Tuhill is our newest associate and she is the 35th associate at our clinic.

Q- What is your most embarrassing moment as an osteopath?

A- As a 4th year student I treated a patient’s good knee! I have also been asked to treat a naturist in the nude! (Which I declined.)

A 62 year old man recently consulted us for treatment for his low back pain. As he was taking anticoagulant medication due to a recent stroke it was explained that we would not be able to carry out any osteopathic manipulation treatment as it could cause bleeding due to the medication. But we were able to treat his back strain with gentle articulatory techniques and stretching. We also advised some exercises which this patient could do at home.

A 26 year old footballer consulted us with low back pain. After 3 sessions there was not a lot of improvement in symptoms so I re-examined the patient and asked a lot more questions about past medical history. It turned out that there had been a whiplash injury when this patient was a teenager which she forgot to mention and this was contributing to the strain pattern and hence the low back pain. We addressed the neck and upper back strain and the low back pain eased.



Some amusing signs: -

On a plumber’s van: ‘Don’t sleep with a drip call us’

On an electrician’s van: ‘Let us remove your shorts’

On the door to a maternity ward: ‘Push, push, push’

On the back door of septic tank: ‘Caution this tank is full of political promises’

And my favourite from a local skip hire firm: ‘Phil the Skip’