Motion Forword - Words of a Therapist: Little Wins, Logical Thinking & Changing Light Bulbs

Welcome to Motion Forword - Words of a Therapist! Number 27! 

Motion Forword is about discussing the combined benefits of movement with a positive mental attitude. Using my personal/professional experiences, evidence-based research and some of your own experiences. 

Bringing some hope, positivity, happiness and maybe usefulness to those, perhaps like yourself, that needs a pick me up. 

Something about me…Three Best Rated

I’ve been considered by Three Best Rated as one of the top 3 best Osteopaths in Southampton for 5 years in a row along side Gayle Jordan at Align Osteopath and Jemma Shaw at Osteopathy and You.

Here we are together at the 2023 Therapy Expo in Birmingham!

I often talk to my patients about the ‘little wins’ and this is certainly one of them for me and my little business.

I do my best to provide bespoke and empathetic care combined with scientific/research-based understanding of the human body’s ability to recover and heal.

This was highlighted in a recent review:

‘‘Was a recent client of Nathan’s and I was with him for 3 months, and in that very short period, he was able to help identify the pain points within my shoulder and back and lower body. He’s very knowledgeable and takes time to understand all the aspects of your daily routine to be able to accurately diagnose any habits, issues and causes which may be impacting you. I found this to be refreshing especially since I have been looking for someone to actually understand the specific feeling the pains were giving me, which other places couldn’t and were more interested in keeping me in their process. Since then I have been free of most of my issues due to his work and been maintaining the tips and techniques he provided during the sessions. Highly recommend if you’re looking for answers to your problems which haven’t been answered elsewhere.’’ - Adrian

There are plenty of people that may need our care. So if you know of someone, please forward them this email and see if it can persuade them that they don’t need to live in pain.

Something for you…Occam’s Razor

What comes to mind if I said:

• 1. Hoofs clomping on the ground.

or

• 2. Jet noises in the sky.

or

• 3. Creaky eerie noises.

If your answers were:

1. A Horse

2. A plane

3. Standing on Floor Boards

Then you would be most likely right.

If your answers were:

1. A Zebra

2. Superman

3. A murderer coming for you

Then you would be most likely wrong!

Context is of course always important - because the second lot of answers could be correct if you were 1. in the Sahara desert, 2. at the film set for the next Superman Movie and 3. were being hunted by a murderer in an escape room! - but the point of this is that the simpliest answer (or the one with fewest assumptions) is usually the right one.

This principle is known as Occam’s Razor — When faced with competing explanations for the same phenomenon, the simplest one — the one that makes the fewest assumptions — is usually the best. I apply this principle to my practice and is also applied in medicine in general.

95% of the time, your problem is the simpliest, most rational and most common one.

‘Simple’ isn’t aways easy (as I can attest to in my changing a bulb story below) which is why you should always get checked by a health care professional rather than ‘Dr Google’!

A professional who takes in all the information provided, applies it to the context of the situation will result in a sensible and logical conclusion.

A note on contradiction: A simple solution for your pain is that a joint is out of place and we can put it back in. This would align with the above philosophy. However this disregards all the evidence to the contrary i.e. JOINTS OUT OF PLACE IS A MYTH! We still need to apply Occam’s Razor to the real world (like Superman being in the sky) and the evidence we have to date. As human-beings, we aren’t that simple!

A story…How many Bull’s does it take to change a light bulb?

A few weeks ago, I had to head home to Kent to see the family. It wasn’t for the most pleasant of reasons, but it was important — and I had the time — so I made the five-hour round trip.

Unfortunately, the night before, my car’s main beam bulb blew. I managed to buy a replacement from a local auto electrical shop and figured that once I got to my parents’, Dad could give me a hand.

How hard could it be, right?

Well… as with so many things in life, it wasn’t quite that simple.

Can see where Jeremy gets his farming skills from…

The bulb in question was on the left side, immediately blocked by a bulky fuse box that made access awkward and fiddly. We pulled off the dust cover — and promptly dropped it straight down into the depths of the car. Retrieving it took a while, involving long sticks and a lot of improvisation. Think of a greasy, frustrating version of “hook-a-duck” at the fairground.

Once we’d unplugged the electrical connectors, the next challenge was unclipping the wire catch holding the bulb in place. The YouTuber demonstrating the process made it look effortless — but Dad and I wrestled with it, twisting, pushing to absolutely no avail.

Dad suggested removing the fuse box to get a better look. Easier said than done. Multiple screws, different sizes, awkward angles — finding the right tool for each was an adventure in itself. Meanwhile, I kept pausing the YouTube video, desperately trying to see what the mechanic was doing, only for his hand to block the exact bit I needed to see.

Eventually, I figured it out. The clip didn’t open the way I thought. Once that mystery was solved, the rest was smooth sailing: new bulb in, clip secured, connections back on, dust cover recovered (and replaced).

All in all, it took us well over an hour to do what the YouTube mechanic achieved in two minutes.

Moral of the story: things are rarely as simple as they first appear.

So, if you’ve got a problem with your car — don’t come and see me!
But if you’ve got a problem with your body — that, I can help with. I’ll help you diagnose, understand, and treat your condition, removing uncertainty and giving you a clear path to recovery.

Thanks for reading.


Until next month…

Motion Forword ⏩⏩

Nathan