A little over a year ago (August 2011) today I pulled my hamstring playing too much hockey at a tournament. It was only a minor 'tear' but it plagued me afterwards, making playing sport tough. I sought help from a Derby based physiotherapist who diagnosed a weak left leg (from a previous knee surgery) and too much strain on my other leg (now with a hamstring tear). I worked hard in the gym to build my left leg, for months, strengthening it every night (literally). And having regular check ups with my physiotherapist, at £35 a session. Unfortunately I didn't improve and had to miss the end of the hockey season. There was seemingly no end in sight. I'd spent nearly £1,000 on physiotherapy and was still no closer to being fit enough to return to sport properly. The pain had spread from my hamstring to my back, groin and ankle - even putting on socks in the morning was becoming tricky; my sore back inhibiting even this simple task.

A friend of mine recommended Paul Ashburner, who incidentally had been recommended to him by his Dad. In honesty, I didn't really know what an osteopath did but a quick Google search and I thought it was worth a try. I assumed my initial assessment would involve me cataloging a history of my injury. It did a little but Paul's own assessment identified issues with my alignment alone. Incredibly he knew exactly where, when he applied pressure, I would feel pain and where I wouldn't - he was correct 100% of the time. For the rest of the session he mobilised certain joints to help bring my body into correect alignment, and I kid you not, I stood up after a few minutes and felt no pain or tightness in my hamstring! Sounds too good to be true? Sounds like a bogus testimonial? It's not. I still can't believe it now. Simply, my body was out of line and placing excessive tension on my hamstring. Straightening it up relieved said pressure and with it my suffering, instantly.

I've been back to see Paul twice since my first appointment as it took a while for my body to 'take' to its new alignment. A month on, and I'm back to 100%. I mentioned to Paul that it was a miracle, he smiled and said, "not really". Well, after a year of suffering and seeing countless 'experts' - I'd call it a miracle. I'm obviously very pleased with the results and would recommend Paul to anyone.