Looking for an Osteopath?
Looking for a great Osteopath? You’ve come to the right place! Ryde Natural Health Clinic Osteopath’s Dr Evan Marnezos, Dr Kristopher Sanford, Dr Kevin Finnan, Dr David Tai, and Dr Kuan Ng are Ryde’s leading Osteopaths and have extensive experience treating a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions including:
- Neck, back and shoulder pain
- Muscle strains and spasms
- Nerve entrapments such as carpal tunnel, sciatica, and trigeminal neuralgia
- Headaches, migraine and jaw pain
- Arthritis and other joint conditions, and
- Sporting injuries
Ryde Natural Health Clinic is open 8am – 8pm, 7 days, so call 9878 5021 to book your first appointment- we may even be able to see you today!
Osteopaths
Dr Wei ‘David’ Tai
Having completed the 3 year undergraduate and 2 years Master of Osteopathy at Southern Cross University, David is a registered Osteopath in Australia, and in addition he’s also a registered neurological physiotherapist in Taiwan. Using a range of soft tissue techniques, dry needling, joint mobilisation, spinal adjustment techniques and physiotherapy skills from the past, David is passionate about helping people ease their symptoms from neck, back or joint pain faster, while addressing the underlying cause of their pain.
He is also SIRA accredited and able to assist with Workers compensation, CTP and DVA claims.
He’s also working in our sister clinic in Macquarie Park, Back to Active Sports and Spinal
David is also fluent in Taiwanese and Mandarin.
Dr. Tayla Lane
Tayla graduated with her Masters of Osteopathic Medicine in 2022 from Southern Cross University. For the past few years Tayla has been working in the Central West NSW where she is currently still working part time. Tayla has an interest in women and children’s health. Guiding and supporting women through their pregnancy and post partum journeys as well as paediatrics with birth strains, growth and development. She also enjoys working alongside individuals with sports injuries, job specific restrictions and chronic pain. Tayla travelled to the UK in 2023 to co-present her Masters research at The International Osteopathic Conference.
In her spare time Tayla loves going to the beach, surfing, reading or being out on the farm with her horses.
Dr. Evan Marnezos
After experiencing chronic back pain during high school, Evan was introduced to Osteopathy and was impressed by the results and the holistic nature of the treatment. From this experience he decided to pursue a career in osteopathy and enrolled into the Bachelor of Clinical Science (Osteopathy), and went on to complete a Masters of Osteopathic Medicine at Southern Cross University in Lismore. Evan is passionate about treating athletes and has actively competed in powerlifting during his studies. Evan is eager to share the benefits of osteopathic treatment to people who are interested in their health and fitness and has a broad knowledge of pain and injuries in athletes, although is open to treating people from all walks of life.
Evan uses a range of soft tissue techniques, dry needling, joint mobilisation, exercises and spinal adjustments, adapting his approach to cater to his patient’s needs and is well equipped to assist those experiencing neck, back or joint pain!
Dr Kristopher Sanford
Kristopher is a young and passionate osteopath from Melbourne, completing his Osteopathic degree at RMIT University, Victoria. With a keen interest in sport and active lifestyles, Kristopher worked throughout his university degree as a head sports trainer for a Premier League soccer club, as well as multiple AFL clubs and university teams. At the beginning of 2015 Kristopher travelled to Mumbai to work at a very well-known and progressive orthopaedic hospital where he used Osteopathy to aid in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients requiring orthopaedic surgery.
He is passionate about treating people that are actively involved in their health and fitness, and strongly believes that everyone should be able to enjoy their exercise, be it professional or social, pain free.
Dr. Kuan Ng
Osteopath Dr Kuan Ng grew up in Malaysia in the town of Ipoh 200km north of Kuala Lumpur, however has lived with his wife and son in Australia since immigrating here in 1981. Since his early years Kuan has practised Ru Yi Bagua (‘Roo-Yee-Baa-Gwa’) – an ancient Chinese art that emphasises the role of body equilibrium, balance, fluid movements, and clarity of mind in a person’s health and wellness, and acknowledges the link between a healthy mind, body and spirit.
Through Ru Yi Bagua, Kuan has successfully treated people for postural pain and musculoskeletal conditions for over 30 years.
Dr Kevin Finnan
After suffering from chronic back pain for years on end, Kevin discovered Osteopathy, which successfully assisted him in managing his pain. Impressed with the results of his treatment, Kevin enrolled into the Bachelor of Applied Science (Osteopathy) and continued to complete a Masters of Osteopathy at University of Western Sydney. Kevin utilises a variety of hands on osteopathic techniques and offers a personalised treatment that is structured to assist you in reaching your own health goals. In addition to his roles at RNHC, Kevin currently tutors human anatomy, physiology and neuroscience to a variety of health and medical programs at the University of Western Sydney.
Kevin is the principal Osteopath and a director of RNHC. His vision is to bring the knowledge and skills of osteopathic treatment to the people of Ryde.
Osteopathy – What to expect at your first appointment:
At your first session, your Osteopath will ask you about the history of your problem to establish when and where the symptoms first started and how they may have changed over time, the treatments (if any) you have received to date, and the impact your pain may be having on your life.
After learning of the history of your pain, your Osteopath will carry out a hands-on examination, which comprises of various tests of the spine, nervous system, muscles and joints. Generally, none of these tests are painful, however if you are in acute pain, your Osteopath may ask you to demonstrate what positions and movements reproduce or exacerbate your pain.
After identifying the underlying cause/s (which usually don’t, however occasionally do require referral for an x-ray, C-T scan or MRI), your Osteopath will set some treatment goals, with the ultimate goal being to restore maximal, pain-free movement to your muscles and joints.
Osteopathy treatment style:
At Ryde Natural Health Clinic, our Osteopaths are highly trained ‘structural’ Osteopaths and will adapt their treatment and techniques based on your needs. The Osteopathy treatment techniques your Osteopath will use include:
- Spinal manipulation (Also known as an ‘adjustment’)
- Joint mobilisation
- Muscle energy technique (MET)
- Soft tissue work/massage
- Counterstrain
- Balanced ligamentous tension (BLT)
- Myofacial release
- Visceral manipulation
- Therapeutic ultrasound, and
- Exercises
Treatments are generally not painful.
How Osteopathy is different:
Unlike the conventional approach to medicine, which emphasises the use of pharmaceuticals to mask or manage symptoms, Osteopaths take the time required to establish a clear understanding of why your problem developed in the first place, and put into place a series of steps that will attempt to resolve the underlying problem.
How Osteopathy can help you:
If every joint in your body is moving as it was intended, and if the joints are stabilised well by the soft tissues (muscles, fascia and ligaments) supporting them, then you shouldn’t really develop musculoskeletal pain at all unless you experience an injury. So why do so many people experience aches and pains? The problem lies in the fact that none of us use our bodies as they were originally intended to be used – we don’t run, swim, climb, carry and throw all day as we are designed to. Instead we sit, lay and stand in awkward static positions that result in some joints stiffening up, leaving other joints to do all the work.
Let’s use the spine as an example.…
Your spine is made up of 33 vertebrae and many more joints. If all of these joints are moving well, then the workload that is taken on by these joints is distributed optimally – it is shared around so that each joint plays its part and no joint is overworked.
Problems arise when after years of prolonged sitting, standing, and bad postural habits results in many of these joints jamming up. While going about your regular activities you may only notice some dull achy pain, but when you try to lift something heavier than you usually do, or bend, twist or move in a way that you haven’t done for a while, because many of the joints have stiffened up, all of the strain goes to the remaining joints that do move. If the strain is large enough or carried out repeatedly, then you may end up damaging the structures that support and surround those joints, or develop ‘degenerative’ conditions of the spine, or a problem with a disc.
Osteopaths are trained to identify joints that don’t move optimally, and to correct joint motion. By improving joint ‘mobility’ the workload of motion is once again ‘shared around’ all of your joints and muscles as is intended.