Blog

Standing desks

November 26, 2025 by Vicki Aldridge BSc (Hons) Ost Med

How to Use Your Standing Desk Effectively

Standing desks have been around for quite some time, but only recently have they become more affordable and accessible to most people. As research continues to show that sitting for long periods can negatively impact our health, many are turning to standing desks as a better alternative. But standing for too long comes with its own challenges. The real key is movement.

Why Switching Positions Matters

While standing is generally healthier than prolonged sitting, neither position is ideal if held for too long. The latest guidance suggests not sitting for more than about 20 minutes at a time. After that, get up, move, or simply shift your position. The goal isn’t to choose between sitting or standing—it's to keep changing between them.

Do you 'Rock'?

July 1, 2024 by Vicki Aldridge

Our bodies are designed to move, therefore being in any one position can be tiring. Standing still is the next most stressful thing for your back after sitting still. Good standing technique can help (see our blog on standing like a king or queen), however, standing for prolonged periods of time your back and legs can easily get tired.  Ideally move or walk about regualrly, every 15-20minutes.  However that isnt always possible, therefore we need another technique for ideally preventing, or just easing, that extreme back and leg fatigue before it forces you to have to sit down.  This is where the rocking forward and backward technique can help.  Not only is it useful once you get comfortable with it it can feel good too!

Physiotherapy Neurological Assessment for Stroke, MS, MND, ME, Parkinson's management

April 17, 2024 by Ola Oyeleye BSc Physio (qualified 1997), MPH (qualified 2004), MSc (qualified 2011)

PHYSIOTHERAPY NEUROLOGICAL (NEURO) ASSESSMENT AND REHABILITATION

Our Neurological (Neuro) services covering the management of neurological conditions like Stroke, MS, MND, ME, Parkinson's, etc

Neuro Physiotherapy will assess your mobility, falls risk/prevention, muscles weakness, balance, transfers, function and ADL (Activities of Daily Living).  Neuro rehabilitation is focused on the the enhancement of an individual's independence and restoration of function.

Physiotherapy Biomechanical Assessment and Treatment

April 17, 2024 by Ola Oyeleye BSc Physio (qualified 1997), MPH (qualified 2004), MSc (qualified 2011)

PHYSIOTHERAPY BIOMECHANICAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT

Biomechanical assessment investigates the interaction between the mechanical structure: muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints.

This covers postural problems and management, gait analysis, spinal (back/neck) problems, joints pain, Sacroiliac Joint Pain, etc.  Patients from all backgrounds (Runners, Athletes, Older Adults, Children, etc) will benefit from a Biomechanical Assessment and Intervention.

Are you running a lot, or even training for a spring marathon?

April 4, 2024 by Emma Hall, Level 5 Sports Massage therapist

Running long distances can take a toll on all your muscles, leaving them feeling sore and fatigued.  When doing intense training which is required to run a marathon its important not to underestimate the benefits of sports massage, particulalrly in the final stretch of your marathon training.  By including a sports massage in your pre-race routine, we can help speed up the recovery process from your training runs, identify any tight muscles and release tension, as a result improving range of motion to help you move more efficiently while running. Training for a marathon can be mentally tiring too, sports massage can help you to relax and unwind and calm those pre-race jitters. 

Is Cupping your cup of tea?

October 17, 2023 by Emma Hall, Level 5 Sports Massage therapist

Dry Cupping at Bishops Stortford Osteopathy & Physiotherapy practice By Emma Hall …. What is it, and is it your cup of tea?

Myofascial Dry cupping is based on one of the main techniques of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which has been used for thousands of years to relieve pain and treat injuries from sports or everyday activities. Where TCM’s main aim is to balance or move energy (Qi) around the body by targeting acupuncture channels, the modern technique used by sports and massage therapists is different in the way it targets tension in the musculoskeletal system and may help ease the symptoms of muscular pain and stiffness and improve range of movement. It is good for sports recovery as well as helping with ongoing health issues such as arthritis.  

Sports massage are go......

August 18, 2022 by Emma Hall, BTEC level 5 Diploma in Sports Massage and Remedial Soft Tissue Therapy

Dare I say Autumn is just around the corner with morning runs beginning to take on a crisper feel, the football season is getting underway or maybe it’s time to take a well-earned break after a season of triathlon racing and training! I delighted to say, from the 3 September, I will be taking over the reins from Matt on Saturday mornings to help you with your massage goals as he leaves the clinic to begin his career in Physiotherapy.

Do your feet hurt?

April 20, 2022 by Ola Oyeleye BSc Physio (qualified 1997), MPH (qualified 2004), MSc (qualified 2011)

Did you know that when your foot, or even feet, dont work well it can cause your whole body to work badly, and vice versa.

The function of the feet can directly affect the balanced function of the whole body, and vice versa.  That dysfunction can eventually lead to pain.  Even though pain may take some time to evolve due to the bodies amazing compensatory system, these systems are so finely tuned and interrelated they should not be ignored. 

When your feet hurt, they are sending pain signals to the brain giving the information they are not coping or working well, and have the potential to cause further issues all around the body.  However sometimes it’s your body that hurts more because it is sending stronger pain signals.  This could be a result of, or cause of, the foot pain.

There is a long list of symptoms that manifest in the human body from the foot such as hip pain, anterior knee pain, shin pain, neck pain, back pain, hamstring and or calf pain, Achilles and plantar fasciitis to name a few.

General guide to exercise

March 30, 2022 by Vicki Aldridge BSc (Hons) Ost Med

Firstly any movement is a form of exercise. How much movement is advisable depends on your present fitness, your need and your enjoyment. It should feel good, even if it’s challenging it should not feel bad! You must also allow for your daily and present vitality and energy. Exercise is about improving your mental, emotional and physical fitness.  Ideally exercise should resonate with you and how you feel in that moment therefore, it may change day to day, hour to hour and even minute to minute. It’s also worth considering what time of day works best for you. Some people would rather exercise and benefit from the effort more in the morning and some people it’s better mid-afternoon, or even evening.

Ultimately it is important to remember that;

                Movement is life if you don’t move you die.

What to expect from Sports Massage

May 10, 2021 by Emma Hall

I have booked a Sports Massage appointment ….. what happens next? By Emma Hall.

I, Emma Hall, joined Bishop Stortford Osteopathy & Physiotherapy Clinic in August of this year. As a new member of the team I was given plenty of helpful information to get me started .… so if you are thinking about your first massage, first visit to our clinic or even if you have a few massage treatments under your belt you may find this blog a brief and helpful guide to Sports Massage.

2020 Patient Surveys Results are in.... !

April 20, 2021 by Vicki Aldridge

We wanted to share our recent survey results.  Needless to say we were very pleased with the results and would like to thank all those who completed the surveys and for agreeing to share your feedback! 

Amazingly 93.33% of our patient thought that we were good value for money and all our patients surveyed said they would recommend us!

Hopefully it will reassure those who dont know us that we are pretty good at what we do!

Spring in action gracefully

March 31, 2021 by Vicki

As the days are getting longer and a little warmer, now is a good time to get your body moving, and maybe even spring into action, gracefully and carefully! The change of season is a great time to revitalise good habits.  The body likes movement which is why moving often feels good.  However its best to do it gradually and steadily rather than rush at it and potentially overdo it. 

Feel lighter - Think Fluffy

November 18, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge

I would like to talk to you about my latest concept which is fluffing. Following on from previous blogs on posture, and how to try to sit, stand and walk well (please see below) I would like to add another layer... to fluff.

Talking bones

June 11, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge

Did you know your bones can ‘talk’ to you. They have a role in giving us physical feedback and giving us a sense of physical presence, in other words another form of proprioception!

Why should I pay to see an Osteopath?

May 11, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge, Registered Osteopath

Core Stablity - Its the centre of us

May 4, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge, Registered Osteopath

I find we get a bit intimidated about core stability as it’s been made a bit mythical but really it’s very simple. It refers to engaging our deep stabilising muscles which help us balance our core against gravity. In other words, the deep stabilising muscles hold us steady whilst our superficial mobilising muscles move us. 

If we can engage our core and lower our centre gravity with good posture, we are much more stable and balanced, more coordinated and hopefully we are less likely to strain and hurt ourselves.

Walk for joy

April 27, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge, GOsC Registered Osteopath

Our body likes to move! Almost 60% of our body is made up of fluids, and movement help those fluids to move and flow. This includes the blood circulation, our lymphatic/immune system, our breathing/respiration, digestion system and every joint in our body, particularly synovial joints. As one of my peers succinctly put it "movement is life if you don’t move you die". So, it’s kind of important to move!  Walking is one of the best rhythmical activities we can do. It is ‘free’, and should be available to us all at some level.

Stand like a King or Queen.

April 20, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge, GOsC Registered Osteopath

I’d like to talk about how to stand.  Ideally tall and proud.... regally, like a king or queen.

The late Queen, particularly in her younger years, was known for standing at ceremonies for long periods of time without fidgeting. She was balanced, upright, stable and yet still soft and elegant, definitely not rigid. My understanding is it is the military at ease position. For anyone who has done Pilates, Thai chi, Yoga standing is often one of the first things we learn.  How to find a balanced standing position.

Are you sitting comfortably?

April 14, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge, GOsC Registered Osteopath

The body is like a super intelligent computer, it does what you tell it to with the added ability to self heal! So, whatever you spend most of your life doing will become your bodies default habits.  This is a good place to start trying to improve things, if you need to!

In this modern world we spend a lot of time sitting. This influences your bodies patterns and therefore how you ‘do’ everything else

Passion for posture

April 6, 2020 by Vicki Aldridge, GOsC Registered Osteopath

After over twenty years of practising osteopathy I have become very passionate about POSTURE. So what is posture? It is much more than just standing upright and putting your shoulders back.  Posture is everything! It’s about the balance of your mind, body and spirit.  If your physical posture improves not only does your digestion, breathing and circulation improve but YOU ‘feel’ better and it improves your mood, and vice versa. 

 
“A strong body makes the mind strong.” – Thomas Jefferson

Knot again!!!

April 3, 2020 by Sam Reeve, Sports Massage Therapist, ITEC Level 3, BTEC Level 5, Diploma in Sports Therapy.

Did you know, there are over 650 muscles in the human body, the Gluteus being the largest and the Stapedius (found in our middle ear) being the smallest. Our muscles not only support movement, they also help maintain posture, keep blood circulating as well as assist with breathing. As the muscular system dominates our other bodies systems in terms of size, it’s no surprise that many, if not all of us, have had some exposure to muscular knots, either physically or at least heard/used the term ‘knot’.

Proprioception - the real 6th sense

March 26, 2020 by Andrew McGowan, Osteopath

Proprioception aka “joint position sense” is the body's sense of its position relative to its environment e.g if we wave our hand above our head we know where it is without looking at it, and in the foot's case, it is what gives us an “instinctive” sense of where it is relative to the ground. There is a constant stream of information from the foot to the central nervous system as to what's going on underneath it, this is processed, and information is sent back down to the foot as to how to keep us upright. (The other two input mechanisms of balance are our vision i.e. maintaining a horizontal horizon, and the "internal gyroscope" we have in our inner ears.) 

How to get the best out of your skiing holiday

December 18, 2019 by Andy McGowan GoSC Registered Osteopath

Those of us looking forward to this year’s skiing holiday may be surprised to learn just how challenging this is for our musculoskeletal systems, even if we consider ourselves quite cardiovascularly “fit”.

Could modern acupuncture help you?

December 11, 2019 by Andrew McGowan Registered Osteopath

At Bishop's Stortford Osteopathy and Physiotherapy we often use Medical Acupuncture in parallel with osteopathic techniques to alleviate pain.

Breathe of life

November 21, 2019 by Vicki Aldridge BSc (Hons) Ost Med

Breathing is the most basic function in the body and one of the most important, not just to keep you alive but to achieve an active state of health. Relaxed regularly breathing is a reflection of physical and mental balance.

Would You Like To Keep Enjoying Sport into your Forties and Beyond?

July 26, 2017 by Osteopath Andy McGowan

Do you want to continue doing the sport you enjoy, into middle age and beyond?

Are you finding your performance is being hampered by twinges of pain and a lack of flexibility?

Don’t assume that it is just “old age” setting in and that nothing can be done.  We can help you to continue to enjoy your sport and exercise for years to come.

Footstrike When Running

March 17, 2017 by Osteopath - Andy McGowan BSc.

There is ongoing debate about the merits of exactly which part of your foot should land on the ground first when running. This not only throws up some interesting questions about running technique itself, but from a therapist’s point of view has wider implications about the role of artificial means of support in all forms of exercise and activities of daily life.

Perfect Posture

February 16, 2017 by Osteopath - Andy McGowan

Are you spending long periods at a desk, laptop or in the car?  Or maybe curled up on the sofa with feet up, knees raised and a phone or tablet resting on your legs?  Sounds familiar?  Osteopath Andy McGowan explains how improving your posture doesn't need to be strenuous or difficult.

Ice Pack or Heat Pack... or Both?

April 8, 2016 by Vicki Bushell - Registered Osteopath

We’ve all heard about putting heat or ice on an injury, but which? 

Given that cold & heat are opposites how can both be helpful, surely it’s one or the other?  Here’s our guide on what to use, when to use it and how to use it most effectively.

In general if something is a recent injury or very acute/painful a Cold Pack can be the most helpful, but when if something is less angry and more of a chronic (long term) ache or pain, alternating Hot and Cold packs can be much more beneficial than Cold Packs alone.  

Cranial Osteopathy and Babies

March 26, 2015 by Vicki Aldridge - Osteopath

We often get asked how osteopathy particularly cranial osteopathy can help newborn babies.   The best way I have found to explain it is to say the three things that a baby has to do a lot of is eat, sleep and poo! - oh and grow!!     

Osteopaths believe that the healthy balance and function of the musculoskeletal framework of the body is essential for whole body health. 

Osteopathy is based on the principle that the structure and function of the body are intimately related.  If the structure is not in balance then the function is affected, and vice versa.  In turn osteopaths can help the body find the changes it needs to make to develop to optimal efficiency.

Posture and Injury

January 9, 2015 by Vicki Aldridge - Osteopath

Posture is about how we hold and use our bodies.  In all animals including humans, posture can provides significant clues about our mental and physical health.  A good posture should mean that the body is aligned and working at maximal efficiency which in turn should imply to good health and relaxation.  A healthy body has an ability to heal itself and to revert to its normal structure and function when outside influences have been removed. Sometimes when an injury is either of major trauma, such as a car accident, or following repetitive minor trauma such as bad habits when in time it gets confused as to what ‘normal’ really is, the body needs physical (manual treatment) and sometimes chemical (painkillers) to help rebalance itself.   

Natures Cure

October 29, 2014 by Vicki Aldridge BSc(Hons) Ost. Med.

“Nature itself is the best physician” Hippocrates

In modern life we now often reach for a tablet to ‘cure’ an illness or complaint.  Don’t get me wrong, modern medicine is amazing – just look at how long we are all living now.  But in many ways we seem to have forgotten that the body has to heal itself – medicine just helps!  

Natural Anti-inflamatories

October 10, 2014 by Osteopath - Vicki Aldridge BSc (Hons)

After an injury one of the first things to happen is that tissues swell and become inflamed, and it is this inflammatory process that causes us pain, as the damaged tissues become more swollen and pressured.   Ironically inflammation is part of the healing process and therefore important.  However excessive inflammation can increase pressure and therefore cause long term tissue damage, so it can be helpful to moderate inflammation when symptoms are abnormal.  However many people cannot tolerate some anti inflammatory medication, but luckily nature has an answer.  

Welcome

August 13, 2014 by Martin

Welcome to our new website.