Mrs M - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Mrs M consulted me early January 2005. She was coming back from the Maldives where she had hurt her coccyx in a fall escaping from the Boxing Day 2004 Tsunami. She had been told that it was only a coccyx fracture and that she would be fine after six weeks. She soon started to be worried as the pain was not only in her coccyx and low back but her whole body was aching. She was suffering from nightmares and flashbacks, she was finding it very difficult to leave the house and had lost “the taste” for things she used to like doing like dressing up to go out, going out, seeing friends. She felt very isolated as she didn’t want to annoy her friends with her problems. She found it extremely difficult to face water especially the sea or swimming pools as she was feeling the pain in her body increasing with the sight of water. She was very strong psychologically and could not understand why she was so weak when her husband was absolutely fine and therefore she was feeling useless. She had never been the kind of person who would consult anyone when she was in pain, she would just cope with it. At that time she couldn’t and that was making her feel very low psychologically.
She only consulted me for her muscular and coccyx pain and during the first two treatments she kept crying while I was asking her questions (related or not to the event). All her muscles were very tight and I could easily see that her body was reacting strongly as a whole to a threat. During the third treatment as I was using deep tissue massage she just started to open up and explained to me everything in small details. There is a considerable amount of psychology literature which supports the theory of muscular techniques bringing the flashbacks and helping with a psychological treatment. The muscles generally improved after that treatment. I carried on treating her with muscular techniques but also with techniques that osteopaths consider have an influence on the sympathetic nervous system (see article on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), I also used techniques which can help with stress related issues. I considered I was not trained to help her with the psychological side of her problem and therefore asked her to consult her GP to be referred for counselling.
After eight treatments she thought she was absolutely fine and we decided to end the treatments. In April 2005 she decided it was time to face her fears and booked a holiday abroad. She could manage with everything except staying for long periods of time next to the swimming pool or the sea and had to have a room at the ground floor. I personally thought it was already amazing that she could do so much after just four months. She unfortunately came back to see me exactly a year after the last treatment complaining of pain in the elbow. This pain could have been unrelated but as it started to disappear she started to have pain in one leg, then the other arm with no clear explanation. As we talked we both realised that even though she now had a normal life the psychological symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder were still present even if at a very low grade compares to what they were. We then decided to start a new treatment plan and I wrote a letter to her GP who referred her to a counsellor.
She gave up treatment soon after she started seeing the counsellor. The main reason was that at this point the pain wasn’t having an impact on her life important enough to justify the amount of money spent in treatment.
With this patient I witnessed osteopathic treatment being of great help to a certain degree but then even if I was convinced she could have experienced more improvement the improvement was a lot more subtle and was taking longer. I think that in case of Mrs M it is very important for the patient to be informed of the different options and decide if the amount of improvement they might get is worth the money they will spend.
I was since consulted by a few other patients with medically diagnosed PTSD or suspected PTSD and had similar kind of responses with early cases. I am currently seeing one patient who is treated with cranial and structural osteopathy, cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling who is making amazing progress.
To find out more about PTSD, please follow the link below:
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Written by Anne-Tiphaine Braud, Registered Osteopath. To contact Anne-Tiphaine, please click here
She only consulted me for her muscular and coccyx pain and during the first two treatments she kept crying while I was asking her questions (related or not to the event). All her muscles were very tight and I could easily see that her body was reacting strongly as a whole to a threat. During the third treatment as I was using deep tissue massage she just started to open up and explained to me everything in small details. There is a considerable amount of psychology literature which supports the theory of muscular techniques bringing the flashbacks and helping with a psychological treatment. The muscles generally improved after that treatment. I carried on treating her with muscular techniques but also with techniques that osteopaths consider have an influence on the sympathetic nervous system (see article on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), I also used techniques which can help with stress related issues. I considered I was not trained to help her with the psychological side of her problem and therefore asked her to consult her GP to be referred for counselling.
After eight treatments she thought she was absolutely fine and we decided to end the treatments. In April 2005 she decided it was time to face her fears and booked a holiday abroad. She could manage with everything except staying for long periods of time next to the swimming pool or the sea and had to have a room at the ground floor. I personally thought it was already amazing that she could do so much after just four months. She unfortunately came back to see me exactly a year after the last treatment complaining of pain in the elbow. This pain could have been unrelated but as it started to disappear she started to have pain in one leg, then the other arm with no clear explanation. As we talked we both realised that even though she now had a normal life the psychological symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder were still present even if at a very low grade compares to what they were. We then decided to start a new treatment plan and I wrote a letter to her GP who referred her to a counsellor.
She gave up treatment soon after she started seeing the counsellor. The main reason was that at this point the pain wasn’t having an impact on her life important enough to justify the amount of money spent in treatment.
With this patient I witnessed osteopathic treatment being of great help to a certain degree but then even if I was convinced she could have experienced more improvement the improvement was a lot more subtle and was taking longer. I think that in case of Mrs M it is very important for the patient to be informed of the different options and decide if the amount of improvement they might get is worth the money they will spend.
I was since consulted by a few other patients with medically diagnosed PTSD or suspected PTSD and had similar kind of responses with early cases. I am currently seeing one patient who is treated with cranial and structural osteopathy, cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling who is making amazing progress.
To find out more about PTSD, please follow the link below:
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Written by Anne-Tiphaine Braud, Registered Osteopath. To contact Anne-Tiphaine, please click here
