RSI is a general term used to describe a primary cause of a condition involving muscles and tendons. It can also indicate an aggravating factor of a pre-existing condition. It refers to the repeated use of particular muscle groups as causative and/or aggravating factors. Read more....
I was born in London in 1953 and have lived there for most of my
life apart from a few years in the USA in the late 60’s where my father
practised as an Osteopath in Los Angeles. I first lived for two months in the then
segregated Davenport, Iowa, then in Mexican dominated Downtown Los Angeles for
18 months then in white wealthy Beverly hills for the remainder. Thus, I lived
in a wide variety of cultures and sub-cultures and had to try to fit in with all
of them, the last being the easiest. When I was seventeen we returned to England
to avoid the possibility of me being drafted to go to the Vietnam war.
The first time saw a full skeleton was when I was 3 years old. My Father was
studying Naturopathy and Osteopathy in London. He practised his techniques on me
throughout my childhood and into my adulthood. He would take me around to
various practitioners in order to learn their techniques and perspectives in
England and especially when I was a teenager in the USA. From these people not
only did Dad learn a great deal but I also got an education. He once took me
to a 92 year old Osteopath called Pearl Rittenhouse who had a grip like a
lobster, incisive and precise. The most irritating one was a Chiropractor in
Pasadena who insisted on testing pain points by poking my spine with a ball
point pen and asking which point hurt the most! ALL of them was the answer but I
bluffed in the knowledge that the sooner we were out of there the sooner Dad
would buy me my reward root beer afterwards.
Upon my return to England in
1970 I was now a true misfit. Imbued with the transcendent culture of the late
60’s I sought like minds but found few if any. Surrounded by skinheads and
football fanatics I did my best to fit in. I longed through many recurrent
dreams to find my California again. I was dissolute and started doing jobs after
school and weekends determined to raise enough cash to at least visit my lost
home. So I mopped floors in a Kilburn supermarket, washed dishes, worked in a
lab at Northwick Park Hospital and turned 17, 18 and 19.
I did return
twice and also did a round Britain tour in a rusty 1958 Morris Post Office van
that I had turned into a camper van.
I met my Wife to be when I was 19
(1974) and we have been together ever since, she is a very
famous textile artist
and is thoroughly Portuguese.
We were married and I began to realise that
after 3 months of working at Heinz factory would be a lifetime of tedium, okay
for a few weeks but not sufficient for the brain that I was about to take charge
of.
So in an unusual move for me (stubborn) I asked my Dad for advice. He
simply replied “Why don’t you do what I do?”. I thought about it for a few
moments and agreed. My interests apart from ignoring school were in the
neurophysiology of perception. So given that I would be studying the Central
Nervous System on my course I was enthused enough to proceed with Dads
suggestion. Thereupon I enrolled in a Diploma course at the London College of
Naturopathy and Osteopathy who let me in with open arms. However, I was not yet
mature enough to succeed there. They had recently suffered a revolt and half the
tutors and a lot of the 3rd and 4th year students had left in order to establish
a more technique and skills based course at the European School of Osteopathy in
Maidstone (ESO). I had decided that I was not ready educationally to jump in at
the deep end again and so enrolled in further education. My grades were high
enough to be acceptable to the ESO and thus I began a new start with a brain
that now had an intense curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
I graduated from the ESO in 1980 following the completion of a four year full-time
course. The four years full time course covered the complete anatomy of
everything human, Neurology, Pathology, Orthopedics, General medicine,
Radiology, Differential diagnostics and most importantly the study of Form and
Function. The ‘Puppet and Strings’ as I call it. My thesis was bravely entitled
‘An Osteopathic approach to cortical pathophysiology’. During my time in
practice I have treated thousands of individuals and have given over 50,000
treatments. I use a myriad of traditional techniques, strictly hands-on and work
with all limbs and joints. I have developed many specialised techniques
(Myo-articulation) especially for Repetitive Strain Syndromes. I also use my own
‘Structural Cranial’ techniques for relieving intracranial pressure and impacted
cranial joints.
I speak
adequate Portuguese, bits of French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Japanese and
Farsi. They may be just a few words but they are the important ones.
1980: Began practice at 35a Welbeck Street, London, W1.
1981: I was Technical
Advisor to the ‘Vogue book of exercise’
1981: I taught ‘The Anatomy and
Physiology of movement’ for dance teachers.
1986: As a result of five years
of research into the hydrodynamics of intracranial physiology, I had an article
published in the Journal of Alternative Medicine This was based on research into
breathing patterns and their effects on intracranial pressure patterns.
1993-1995: Another article: Cranial osteopathy and the Pediatric Craniopathies
was published by Bastyr University, Journal of Naturopathic Medicine ( Oregon ),
and The New Zealand Journal of Osteopathy and by Temple University (
Philadelphia), Frontier Perspectives.
1989-1995: I gave seminars in New York,
Philadelphia and Connecticut on 'An Osteopathic approach to intracranial
physiology'. I was asked to join a clinic in Philadelphia and Danbury,
Connecticut as an ‘expert’ diagnostician. These were short stints, I could not
leave my London practice for too long.
2000: Around 2500 seasoned Osteopaths
decided to leave the Osteopathic profession disgruntled with the new regime.
Thus, I and many others joined the Association of Osteomyologists and various
other organisations.
2005: I created my clinic website replete with
interactive anatomy illustrations: www.paulmanley.org
2007: I was invited to
give a lecture to Post-graduate Voice teachers at the Royal Academy of Music. I
turned this lecture into webpages and can be viewed here: voice
2008 to
present: working in full time practice in Central London.
Article published in the Journal of Natural Medicine on respiratory waves and their influence
on the pressure waves of the Cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF).
Measurement of
cranial expansion and contraction using strain gauge monitoring. Static
method and fluid driven.
Article published in three different journals globally on Infantile Craniopathies and Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome.
Brain stem control of activation levels and the
effect on the central and peripheral nervous system resting potential.
The effect of posture on the tensility of the spinal cord and meninges.
I
had the pleasure of discovering pre-capillary sphincters in the higher
mammalian cerebral cortex. This topic was much debated across the world as
to whether these micro-sphincters existed in the higher mammalian brain. Yes
they do.
I devised the concept of 'functional columns' in the human
cerebral cortex based on micro-electrical fields and the average densities
of the nerve endings and capillaries.
I also developed the concept of
a 'Pineal diaphragm'. This acts as valve and sensor which has an influence
of the balance of CSF pressures between the central and peripheral CSF
circulatory divisions.
Article on the importance of the Pineal gland in governing our circadian cycles.
Doppler evaluation of vascular stenosis and study
of trans-cranial doppler simulators and machinery.
The importance of the
fast fourier transform in interpreting doppler signals.
Non-invasive
chelation therapy for clearing out the arteries.
Lectures and seminars on
intra-cranial physiology in New York, Philadelphia and Connecticut.
The
effects of intrathoracic and intra-abdominal pressure on intracranial
pressure and blood pressure.
The effect of breathing deeply 10 times on
blood pressure. Systolic drops by 10mm and diastolic by 5mm.
The
neuro-physiology of behavioural conditioning, genetics and state of the
Mother whilst pregnant (stress).
Cloningers studies of 'biological
conditioning' dividing the topics into three typologies as determinants of
behavioural tendencies.
The Cerebral architectonics of the human cerebral
cortex as posited by Luria.
The 'Four components' of the intracranial
physiology'. A 30,000 word treatise.
Over time I have found myself
specialising in Musicians problems, but general practice dealing with low backs, necks, shoulders and legs is my everyday love.
Many musicians suffer debilitating conditions which will affect their lives as
performers. As a fellow musician since I was 13 I have every sympathy for them
and have taken a very special interest in Repetitive Strain Syndromes not only
in musicians but also in the general public.
The correlation between what
one is habitually doing with their body and the resultant pain patterns has
become very clear over my years of studying and questioning patients. Many have
found relief through what I deem to be simple, common sense observations.
Patients will often present with fairly typical and predictable pain patterns.
The noting of these patterns has inspired the creation of the ‘Pain Maps’ used
in my online diagnostic projects.
If a patient comes to me who has
exhausted all other avenues I will try to research their condition.
As an
example a young Turkish Laboratory worker came to see me on the recommendation
of her Mother who had seen me some 30 years earlier because I had researched the
medications she was taking and brought about a ‘cure’ for her skin condition.
Her daughter had been working in a lab in Didcot UK where she was accidentally
exposed to a deadly gas. She had consulted a lot of doctors who scratched their
heads in puzzlement. She was suffering from fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of
co-ordination and dizziness rather like Multiple Sclerosis. I researched
specifically and soon found the answer buried in the metabolic pathways of
action of this toxin. I prescribed a particular amino acid and gave her some
treatment to her cranium and neck and bingo! Her condition improved back to
normal in around two weeks.
There are so many cases which stick in my
mind. There was a young man who emailed me from Brazil. He had suffered from
cerebral palsy which had contractured his limbs to the degree that it was now
very difficult and painful to walk. He had been a beggar on the streets of Rio
and had been befriended by a man who gave him a career in real estate. Now he
was travelling to Italy to do a deal having stopped over in London to see me. I
gave him the first treatment and upon his return for a second he told me with
great joy that he had never walked so well in all his life. I gave him another
and he messaged me from Italy some weeks later to thank me, he still felt the
marked improvement. What I did with him was simple for me, obvious and very much
worth it for him.
A glass of ice cold water is a miracle in the middle of
the Sahara desert, the same refreshment is normal in Mac Donalds. Miracles can
be little more than a rarity in an otherwise barren landscape shrouded in
medical mystery.
I have treated Hollywood stars, MPs, nurses, GP’s,
CEO’s, cleaners, programmers, athletes, writers, composers and of course many
world famous musicians. Occasionally I have had the pleasure of helping torture
victims.
More recently I have been using my programming skills to create a series of online diagnostic projects:
workplacewellness.london,
painmapper.co.uk. and
musiciansclinic.co.uk
There are many who get benefit from what I do and the way that I
do it who have also exhausted all other options. But for the many who know me, I am their
first port of call, for others, a refuge in the wilderness of medical
double-speak.
I am here if you need me
Paul Manley
So, whether it is your low back, ankle, sciatica, strained neck, repetitive strain disorder, the knuckle on your left little finger or simply tired, tight muscles almost anywhere in your body, call Paul and make an appointment, or if you simply wish to discuss a problem please give him a call or text right now.
Fees
£120 for a one hour session (the first session is always one hour)
£90 for a 45 minute session £60 for a 30 minute session |
'Give your body a gift for life.'![]() The brain pulsates as we breath and with our heartbeat (watch the movie of this amazing new discovery). This makes the cerebro-spinal fluid flow and mix throughout our central nervous system. Thus when we increase our heart rate it 'clears' our head. ![]() Research collated from around the world. ![]() The most vulnerable joint in the body. ![]() A commonly mis-diagnosed problem. ![]() How those of us in "Generation Z+" are facing the challenge of digital ageism. ![]() Detailed information about conditions specific to musicians which can blight their lives. Help and advice. ![]() Migraines and neck strain as caused by being shampooed in a backwash sink. ![]() De-mystifies trigger point therapy and explains when and how it helps with all sorts of problems from RSI to shin splints. |