Stuart Calnan M.Ost, Wimbledon Osteopath
My journey to becoming an Osteopath and training at the prestigious University College of Osteopathy (formerly the British School of Osteopathy) was directly influenced by my own experiences and those of my family.
I have always been a keen athlete - in my teenage years I represented Great Britain at Judo, and played rugby for my school and University. This brought with it my fair share of sports injuries, and I had a hernia operation and three shoulder operations by the age of 27.
Stuart and Jenny
After the third shoulder operation I saw an excellent rehab specialist who used hands-on techniques and took the time to fully explain my injury and recovery plan to me. I learnt the importance of continuing to look after my shoulder, and I still take time to do rehab exercises on it today.
2001
Prior to becoming an Osteopath I spent 13 years working in finance.
As a bond trader I spent long hours in front of screens and late evenings with clients, not an ideal routine for someone with chronic lower back pain. I did my best to manage the pain through exercise and occasional visits to a physiotherapist.
My wife Jenny was working as a teacher and began to see an Osteopath for her own back troubles, and recommended him to me. In his initial consultation he was able to diagnose me with a spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebrae) and after a confirmation scan I began a management plan for the condition, to become pain-free and fully active.
Our son benefited from Osteopathy when he was a few weeks old. He had some sessions with a paediatric Osteopath which had a huge impact on his sleeping, noisy breathing and feeding ability.
My wife continued to see her Osteopath following her cancer treatment, which helped with muscle atrophy, scar tissue formation and general discomfort.
Ultra-marathon Dartmoor 2023
Happily I’ve remained generally injury free in recent years, and enjoy doing a wide variety of sports and training, including tennis, boxing, running, weights and Hyrox.
All of these experiences combined to fuel my own career change and start our Wimbledon Osteopath and Sports Injury Clinic.
My passion for Osteopathy continues to deepen, and I love applying my knowledge of biomechanics of resistance exercise to my patients.
I have completed the David Grey Rehab training programme, which allows me to be very specific in prescribing effective exercises during treatment sessions.