Joint and muscle pain

Does this sound like you?

• Your knee aches going up and down stairs
• Your hip is stiff when you get up from a chair, and eases after a few minutes
• You've started running or lifting and something's grumbling
• You get cramps or muscle spasms that won't settle
• You're just achy in several places and you're not sure why

What's usually going on

Joints and muscles complain for a fairly small number of reasons: they've been loaded more than they were ready for, they've been loaded in the same way too often, or they've not been loaded at all.

Muscle spasm and cramp are usually the body's protective response to one of the above rather than a problem in themselves.

About "wear and tear"

If you've been told you have wear and tear, or osteoarthritis, you've probably been left with the impression that your joint is worn out and there's nothing to do but manage the decline.

That's not what the evidence says.

Joint changes are extremely common with age, including in people with no pain at all. And the single most effective thing for painful osteoarthritic hips and knees is movement, specifically, exercise that builds strength around the joint. Rest makes it worse.

I work alongside that. For hip and knee pain from osteoarthritis, hands-on treatment is an addition to the core treatments and exercise, not a replacement for them. I'll be straight with you about that.

How I can help

I treat joint pains, generalised aches and pains, muscle spasms and cramp, and minor sports injuries. I also treat ankle sprains and plantar fasciitis (heel pain).

For elbow pain and tennis elbow, I treat it where it's connected to problems in your neck or back, which is more often the case than people expect.

What treatment looks like

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What happens at your first appointment

I'll also assess neighbouring areas where appropriate, as hip, foot, neck or other musculoskeletal factors can sometimes contribute to symptoms elsewhere.

How long will it take?

It depends heavily on which joint and how long it's been going on. I'll give you a realistic estimate at the end of the first appointment.

What you can do right now

• Keep the joint moving within comfort, even a small range, often.
• Reduce the aggravating load rather than stopping everything.
• Build strength. For most joint pain, this is the long-term answer.