Thursday, February 23, 2012
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Robert Shanks

Robert Shanks Osteopath

As company director and co-founder Robert is part of the driving force behind our multidisciplinary approach. Robert has been strongly infuenced by his mother, a chartered physiotherapist with 40 years experience. Robert graduated as an Osteopath in 2000 and subsequently furthered his education with several postgraduate courses, notably in medical acupuncture, electrotherapy and clinical Pilates (the latter with the renowned Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute). As well as treating sports injuries and tension headaches Robert's other main area of special interest is the management of patients with chronic low back pain and neck pain associated with disc problems. Robert is set to be a speaker at THE BACK SHOW to be held at London's Olympia in February 2012.

Robert is a strong advocate of medical acupuncture and non-surgical spinal decompression  IDD Therapy which he has found to be invaluable treatment tools for his patients which have included world class sports people with previously unresolved back pain. During his career Robert has worked as a manual handling trainer to The London Fire Brigade and has worked alongside world champion powerlifters and other sports people thus giving him added insight into the demands and capabilities of the human spine.

In 2008, together with Spine Plus colleague, Darren Chandler, he helped establish The National Back Pain Helpline. The helpline functions as a source of information and guidance for people with low back pain, neck pain, sciatic pain (sciatica) and other spine related disorders  www.nationalbackpainhelpline.co.uk . 

When not in clinic Robert spends much of his time observing and networking with other clinicians such as spinal surgeons, pain consultants and radiologists who have special interests in managing back pain. Robert, who is married with 3 young children, explains:

"Back pain is a complex issue that is not always managed in the ideal way; it's causes and effects vary from one individual to another, often meaning people seek help from a variety of sources and do not always find the treatment they need; many patients come to me having tried a number of different treatments without success.

As part of my work I try to unravel the mystery and complexities surrounding back pain. This means using logical clinical reasoning and looking to good evidence-based practice but at the same time treating patients as individuals not being afraid of intuition. It's important to be realistic and appreciate that no two patients (or practitioners) are alike.”