“When I sit before you

I often cease to find

The cause of pain and tension

And what lies festered in my mind.

I come to you with open soul

And share the roads I tread

I paint a picture past and present

Whilst you pull and twist my head.

But the reason for my writing

Is that finally I see

That from our conversations

You believe in me.

In my drive to write or teach

I show passion fully out

You sense my desire to achieve

But you never show me doubt.

You encourage me to live my dream

Don’t look back and cry

For the caterpiller is long gone

And so lives the butterfly.”

With much gratitude

…For over five years I suffered from terrible neck pains and almost daily headaches. I visited approximately 10 Harley Street specialists, tried all sorts of alternative medicine (hypnosis, Alexander technique and even flying to Thailand for acupuncture) and had regular sessions with a variety of expert physiotherapists. Nothing worked.

In April, I was recommended to Robin by my doctor. Since I started seeing him (once a week), my neck pains have diminished to a perfectly tolerable level, not generally having more than one headache a week. In the past month, I have not experienced a single headache. Apart from helping me enormously in a physical sense, Robin Kiashek’s holistic approach has been a real moral booster. His skills as a clinical dietician have improved my diet and he has enrolled me with a personal trainer twice weekly. He is sympathetic, encouraging and thoughtful and I’m sure these human qualities have also played a role in my incredible recovery.

… For most of my life I have suffered from migraine and headaches, which occurred every 6 to 8 weeks. I have received treatments from osteopaths, naturopaths, doctors, chiropractors and physiotherapists. None of the treatments had worked. After moving to London, I was referred to Robin Kiashek by a doctor who was treating me for another bad migraine. I first visited Robin in April 1999 and since then, I have not had another migraine – a dry run of 10 months so far!…

I had been suffering from headaches since childhood. Over the years, these had become more frequent and delibitating to the point where it was most unusual for me to have a day free of headache. Headaches became migraines and I felt ‘better’ when the migraines had retreated to the state of ‘mere’ headaches.

I was recommended to Robin as having some useful experience in this area and somewhat sceptically attended our first session. There was no immediate fix nor was one promised. Robin set about releasing the tension in my upper back and neck through a series of manipulations and cranial massage. He also gave me some shoulder and neck exercises to do at home. I was asked to keep a ‘headache diary’ showing severity and frequency in order to plot any improvements.

Initially improvement was slow – 40 years of headaches don’t resolve overnight. After around 5 or 6 sessions, however, I began to feel a slight improvement in that the headaches became less severe and didn’t turn so readily into migraines. About 8 weeks into treatment I had a major headache which, when it subsided, disappeared completely. Thereafter I began to get not only headache-free days, but headache-free weeks. The cycle had been broken.

I still get headaches – I have a stressful life (OK – who hasn’t). But they are the exceptions, no longer the rule; they do not endure and I can often head them off with relaxtion exercises when I feel them coming on.

I still attend regular treatments with Robin and my headache frequency continues to subside. Robin’s approach has without question improved not only the quality of my life but also that of my family, who now have less frequently to endure a bear (literally) with a sore head.

He diagnosed TMJ (temperomandibular joint – a joint hinging the upper and lower jaw bones) dysfunction as a principle cause of my symptoms. This was confirmed by a dentist and further by a consultant neurologist. I have also suffered a number of physical injuries, for example: badly bruised ribs, a ‘cricked’ neck and very recently a skiing injury to my neck and shoulders. In each case, Robin has been able to mitigate the pain, relieve the symptoms and hasten the recovery. I would highly recommend Robin based on my experience to anyone needing osteopathic treatment.