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I spent the best part of  a very soggy Sunday at the clinic with 6 of my colleagues filming a promotional video for osteopathy with our marketing consultant Christine Lumgair.

While we all tried to arrive looking professional and screen ready, the BC weather gods did their best to make us look like we’d just come out of the shower.  There was little they could do to dampen our enthusiasm though.

Waiting nervously for my turn I was trying to remember my answers to the questions Christine had sent us 2 weeks before.  Many of them were questions I get asked daily, what is osteopathy? what can you treat?  what is the difference between osteopathy and other therapies?  One she asked, that I don’t get as often was,’ Why do you love osteopathy?’  WELL, let me tell you!!!!  My initial answer was not very informative

‘Because it ROCKS!!’

Trying to be a little more articulate I relayed a story from a wee patient I treated years ago

Baby Ruby was brought to see me at 5 weeks old.  Her mother had had a difficult labour that ended up in a cesarian section.  Ruby arrived safely but something was wrong.  She cried, she screamed all the time she was awake, a bad cry like she was in pain.  The only time she wasn’t crying was when she was asleep and it seemed she only slept because she was exhausted.  Her parents couldn’t believe there wasn’t something seriously wrong with her and had taken her to the ER twice, to be told she there was nothing they could find, that babies cry and she was alright.

I examined Ruby and she had a severe restriction between the base of her skull and the first vertebra.  When you find that in adults they usually have awful headaches or terrible neck pain.  I questioned her parents about it and her grandmother, who had been present at the delivery said she remembered seeing Ruby being pulled out by her head (usually the 1st bit out in a C section) and twisted.  I assumed this may have been when the sprain occurred.

I released Ruby’s strain patterns using cranial osteopathy, a gentle treatment that is fantastic for babies.  She responded well and seemed more relaxed by the end of the session.

The week following, her mum returned with her to the clinic for a follow up.  She reported Ruby was much calmer, had stopped screaming like she was in pain and was sleeping better.  My heart melted when her mother told me ‘The day after your treatment was the first day we ever saw our baby smile’.

Maybe it was because it had already been a long day, or maybe it’s because she’s a mum, but we had to pause filming as Christine welled up a little and had to find some tissues.

Moments like that in your professional life stand out, they make you remember why you love what you do so much.  You get to work with your hands with these precious little lives, and you get to play a part in making someone’s life better.

Filming the video was fun, we were all grateful to be a part of it.  What I was most grateful for, was that the process of doing it reminded me why I want to share osteopathy with the people around me.  It helped me articulate why I love osteopathy… because it ROCKS:)