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Monica Franke
Qualified Osteopath |
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Monica has worked as an osteopath since 2004 and she established her practice here in Oxford in 2007, having graduated from the Osteopathy Program at Oxford Brookes in 2003. She is also an NVQ Grade II qualified pilates instructor. Located in a room above the Bourton Mill Health and Fitness Club on the High Street, Monica Franke's osteopathy practice couldn't be more conveniently situated. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I came out of my 45-minute consultation with the feeling that it had certainly been worth my time.
I met Monica after a busy day in the office. Her treatment room is a calm, light space, with classical music playing softly in the background. To begin with, Monica took some details from me, including whether I had had any joint problems, any allergies, and so on. As it happens, I sometimes get a 'niggle' in my knee when I cycle--nothing too painful, but something I was keen to sort out before it got any worse.
Having taken the time to explain the anatomy of the knee and the likely cause of the irritation, Monica assessed my general joint mobility, noting that I was slightly more flexible on one side than the other, and that I was quite tense in a few places (something which I had never realised before). She then got me to lie down so that she could manipulate my hip and knee joints to better assess what was causing the problem. It was mostly a pain-free experience, though she had to push my knee joint in various directions to find out which kind of motion triggered the niggle, which was a bit uncomfortable. However, I felt that Monica didn't push the joint any more than was necessary. One thing I discovered in the process was that one of my knees naturally turned inwards more than the other – it wasn’t anything to do with the niggle I had, but I finally had an explanation (or perhaps an excuse?!) as to why I run like a girl!
Having established the most likely cause of the problem, Monica gave me a massage to relax the areas she had earlier identified as being tense. It wasn't the sort of massage that you have for fun - she pushed quite deeply into the muscles, which was mostly pleasant, though it was quite painful in the areas where I had tension. Still, I felt it was a case of 'short-term pain for long-term gain'. Finally, Monica gave me a simple exercise to help alleviate the knee problem and to stabilise the joints.
I would strongly recommend a visit to Monica Franke – her website (www.monicafranke.com) gives a more detailed explanation of her work and treatment philosophy. I really enjoyed my visit and will definitely be going back in the future if I have any further problems.
Reviewed by Julia Savage |
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