About Healey Clinic

'A gentle but powerfully effective style of manual medicine, which includes skilled palpation and light manipulation. I shall recommend my private patients to come and see you as I know they will be in a very safe pair of hands' -- a family doctor -- February 2012. The Healey Clinic was established in 1975 by Dr. Norman Healey, a hospital consultant physician and back specialist. Dr Healey is also a fully qualified osteopath and naturopath, and this rare blend of skills enables him to offer a thorough approach to manual medicine and the mechanism of acute and chronic neck and back pain. A gentle and specific form of active therapy, manual medicine can be the treatment of choice in many types of aches and pains. Figures show that 90% of patients are satisfied with the results. Dr. Norman Healey specialises in: Manual and Musculoskeletal Medicine Specific joint care and diagnosis Skilled palpation and gentle manipulation Posture, breathing and exercise plans to build vitality, harmony and flexibility Relief from: Acute tension Trapped nerve Stress, strain Muscle spasm pain Postural backache Pinched intervertebral discs Facet joint and malalignment syndrome

Principle
Manual medicine and Natural Hygiene seeks to increase the vitality or life force of the individual and to teach personal responsibility for health. It appreciates that the body has a natural immunity or ability to heal itself, and it emphases that structure and function are interrelated at all levels. It has been defined as that system of the healing art which places chief emphasis upon the structural integrity of the body mechanism, as being the most important single factor maintaining the well-being of the organism in health and disease. The sympathetic nervous system alongside the thoracic spine, controls the lymphatic pump of the immune system. It connects the viscera with the soma, and the front with the back.

Consultation and treatment
Dr. Norman Healey integrates the technique of palpatory diagnosis and manipulative therapy into the comprehensive medical practice of diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. His role in preventative medicine and health maintenance includes educating the patient with regard to posture, exercise, diet, correct breathing, hydrotherapy and the use of aids and appliances to support the musculoskeletal system. He concentrates on body adjustment and natural immunity, removing abnormal tension wherever it is found. The main focus is on joint dysfunction ( subluxation or restriction within the normal range of movement) and the adjacent muscle hypertonicity. This impaired or altered function of the body framework ( muscle, bone, ligament and fascia ) and associated or related parts in the vascular, lymphatic and nervous systems is referred to as somatic dysfunction. It simply means binding or partial locking of a spinal or peripheral joint, and the blockage that this can cause to blood flow and neural pathways. The cure lies in restoring correct alignment of the spine and at the same time improving the range of spinal joint movement to alleviate stiffness. The idea is to attempt to establish and treat the cause of the condition, and not just treat the symptoms.

Importance of the musculoskeletal system
The body is indeed able to maintain or retain health from illness or injury if the mechanisms that maintain homeostasis are not interfered with or caused to be deficient. The musculoskeletal system is a major factor in maintaining this dynamic equilibrium or homeostasis. It acts to cushion the impacts of sudden demands that might upset that balance. It is the primary machinery of life and provides an active function. Thorough knowledge of the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system is the keystone to manual medicine, together with an understanding of the fundamental laws of health relating to rest, exercise, nutrition and hygiene.

Integrated Health
Naturopathy or nature-cure is the principle which underpins all the ancient systems of medicine; ayurveda, herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy as well as osteopathy. The word physician means student of nature. First do no harm. Believe that the human body is constantly trying to heal itself. Know your mechanism. Build vitality and flexibility and get rid of disharmony. Reducing the prescription of anti-inflammatory drugs is one of the most satisfying aspects of manual medicine. Money saved can be spent on naturopathic as well as orthodox medicine research. In other words the integrated health approach is the way forward. Happily we are all unique and have a right to choose sensibly. The quest to heal or make whole is a lifetime discipline. "Enough, if something from our hands have power to live and act and serve the future hour" - William Wordsworth.