Bradley Blair Osteopath

Bradley Blair Osteopath Osteopathy
(2)

That’s what I do. 👊🏾💥👊🏾
30/03/2026

That’s what I do. 👊🏾💥👊🏾

💬 Got this message from a chiropractor in New Zealand.“I’ve never aligned or put back into place a damn thing in 27 year...
30/03/2026

💬 Got this message from a chiropractor in New Zealand.
“I’ve never aligned or put back into place a damn thing in 27 years of practice.”
27 years. A chiropractor. Saying that out loud.
He named his clinic as a deliberate piss-take of the alignment myth that’s been sold to patients for decades. That’s the kind of self-awareness that’s rare in any profession, let alone one where “getting you back in alignment” is basically the entire marketing strategy.
Here’s the thing — when I talk about the BS in manual medicine, I’m not coming for individual practitioners. I’m coming for the ideas. The bad ones. The ones that have no evidence behind them but get repeated so confidently that patients believe them without question.
And yet, every time I raise it, a chunk of the profession loses their minds like I’ve personally insulted their mother.
There are practitioners out there who get it. They’re just not always the loudest voices in the room.
The loudest ones are usually the ones with the most to protect.
Thanks for the message. Keep doing what you’re doing.

Deltoid Ligament — It’s in the Ankle! Answer to quizThis is a common mix-up! The name “deltoid” throws people off becaus...
28/03/2026

Deltoid Ligament — It’s in the Ankle! Answer to quiz

This is a common mix-up! The name “deltoid” throws people off because of the deltoid muscle in the shoulder, but they’re completely different structures.
The deltoid ligament is located on the medial (inner) side of the ankle, as the image shows. Here’s why it’s called “deltoid”:
The name comes from the Greek letter delta (Δ) — a triangle. The ligament fans out in a triangular shape from the medial malleolus (the bony bump on the inside of your ankle) down to the foot bones. It has nothing to do with the shoulder.

Discomfort vs. Pain — Know the Difference 🙌🏾One of the most important conversations you can have with your client happen...
28/03/2026

Discomfort vs. Pain — Know the Difference 🙌🏾
One of the most important conversations you can have with your client happens during the treatment.
There’s a difference between “good hurt” and pain — and teaching your clients to recognize it changes everything.
✅ “Good hurt” feels like:
→ Pressure that’s intense but tolerable
→ A dull ache that “releases” as you breathe into it
→ Tension that melts with sustained contact
→ Something that feels productive
🚫 Pain is a signal to stop:
→ Sharp, stabbing, or shooting sensations
→ Numbness or tingling that wasn’t there before
→ Anything that makes them hold their breath or brace
→ A feeling of “wrong” they can’t explain — trust it
Here’s the truth: working through real pain doesn’t make treatment more effective. It makes the nervous system guard harder.
Your client’s feedback isn’t interrupting the work — it IS the work.
Train them from session one: “On a scale of 1–10, we want to stay between a 4 and a 6 — uncomfortable, but never alarming.”
The best results come when the body feels safe enough to let go.

💬 How do you explain this to your clients? Drop it in the comments 👇🏾

28/03/2026

People still genuinely believe you can find a “dysfunctional segment” at L3 or L4, manipulate that exact level, and fix someone’s back pain.

That idea needs to go.

Yes, manipulation can help. That’s not in question. What’s wrong is the explanation people attach to it.

You are not isolating a single vertebral segment and correcting it like tightening a loose bolt. The spine doesn’t work like that, and your hands aren’t that precise. When you manipulate, multiple segments move. You’re not targeting one level in isolation, no matter how confident someone sounds about it.

What actually makes more sense is the neurological effect. You’re influencing the nervous system. You’re changing pain sensitivity, muscle tone, and how the body perceives movement. That’s why people often feel immediate relief.

And this is where it completely falls apart for the “specific segment” argument.

If you truly had to hit L3 or L4 precisely to get a result, then manipulating somewhere else shouldn’t work.

But it does.

You can manipulate the thoracic spine and someone’s lower back pain improves. Happens all the time. That alone should tell you this isn’t about “fixing” a specific spinal level.

So the idea that you’ve found the exact dysfunctional segment and corrected it is more belief than reality.

Manipulation can be useful. Just stop dressing it up as structural precision when it’s not.

It’s a nervous system response, not a mechanical repair job.

Rhabdomyolysis — what’s actually going onAt its core, rhabdomyolysis is muscle cell death with leakage of intracellular ...
28/03/2026

Rhabdomyolysis — what’s actually going on

At its core, rhabdomyolysis is muscle cell death with leakage of intracellular contents into the bloodstream.

The key mechanism is energy failure. Muscle gets damaged → ATP drops → ion pumps fail → calcium floods into the cell → enzymes get activated → the cell essentially digests itself. What spills out is what causes the downstream problems, especially myoglobin, CK, and electrolytes.

⸻

Common causes (think patterns, not lists)

Instead of memorising everything, group them:

Mechanical / physical insult
Crush injuries, prolonged immobilisation, burns, compartment syndrome, extreme exertion

Metabolic / internal issues
Genetic myopathies, mitochondrial disease, electrolyte disturbances

Drugs & toxins
Statins, alcohol, co***ne, amphetamines, some anaesthetic agents

Infections
Viral (influenza), HIV, others

Other triggers
Hyperthermia, seizures, prolonged intense activity

⸻

Why it becomes dangerous

The big issue isn’t the muscle itself—it’s what gets released.

Myoglobin → kidneys
This is the main problem. It’s toxic to renal tubules and can lead to acute kidney injury.

Electrolytes → heart
Hyperkalaemia is the one that matters clinically → arrhythmias

Systemic effects
Metabolic acidosis, DIC in severe cases, compartment syndrome

⸻

What you actually see clinically

It’s not always obvious.

Classic triad (but not always present):
• Muscle pain
• Weakness
• Dark urine

Other things:
• Swelling of affected muscle
• Reduced urine output if kidneys are involved
• General symptoms like nausea or fever

That dark urine is myoglobin, not blood.

DDH is not about something being “out of place” in the casual sense people like to use. It’s a developmental issue where...
28/03/2026

DDH is not about something being “out of place” in the casual sense people like to use. It’s a developmental issue where the relationship between the femoral head and the acetabulum hasn’t formed as it should. The socket is often shallow, so the femoral head doesn’t sit as securely as it normally would. That’s where the instability comes from.

In infants, you’re not looking for pain. You’re looking for signs. Things like asymmetrical skin folds or apparent leg length differences can raise suspicion, but they’re not diagnostic on their own. The more clinically useful findings are things like limited hip abduction or positive Barlow/Ortolani tests.

If it’s not picked up early, that’s when you start seeing functional consequences. Limping or a waddling gait in a walking child isn’t subtle, and by that stage you’re dealing with something that’s been there for a while rather than something new.

Management is age-dependent, which is the part people often miss. Under 6 months, the Pavlik harness keeps the hips in flexion and abduction so the femoral head stays well positioned in the socket and the joint can develop more normally. It’s not “forcing” anything back in—it’s guiding development.

After that window, things get more involved. Closed or open reduction may be needed, sometimes followed by casting or further surgical input. And yes, in some cases surgery is required, especially if it’s diagnosed late.

The key point is timing. Early detection changes the entire trajectory. Leave it late, and you’re no longer guiding development—you’re correcting a problem that’s already established.

“There is no C8 nerve.”This came up in a quiz I posted… and a surprising number of people said C8 doesn’t exist.It does....
28/03/2026

“There is no C8 nerve.”
This came up in a quiz I posted… and a surprising number of people said C8 doesn’t exist.

It does.

There are 7 cervical vertebrae
But 8 cervical nerve roots (C1–C8)

C1–C7 exit above their corresponding vertebra
C8 is the exception — it exits between C7 and T1

That’s where the confusion usually starts.

What does C8 actually do?

Sensation:
Ulnar side of the hand
Little finger ± ring finger
Hypothenar region

Motor contribution:
Intrinsic hand muscles
Finger flexors (grip strength)

No muscle is purely “C8” — but it plays a big role in hand function.

What you might see clinically

C8 is involved:

Numbness or altered sensation into the little finger
Reduced grip strength
Hand may feel clumsy or weak

C8 absolutely exists.
It’s basic anatomy.

If you’re working with the neck, upper limb, or nerve symptoms…
you need to know where it is and what it does.

28/03/2026

Gluteal amnesia. One of those terms that sounds clever but falls apart the second you actually think about it.

If your glutes genuinely “weren’t firing,” you wouldn’t be standing. You wouldn’t be walking. You wouldn’t be getting up out of a chair. They are clearly working.

What people are usually describing is muscle inhibition. That’s a protective response from the nervous system where a muscle’s output is reduced, often because something in the system is irritated, sensitive, or not tolerating load well. It’s not that the muscle has “forgotten” how to work. It’s that the body is turning the volume down a bit.

So no, your glutes haven’t switched off.

If you want to load them more effectively, then actually load them.

Hip thrusts. Squats. Lunges. Add some weight and progress it over time. That’s how you give the body a reason to use that tissue more.

As for endless banded activation drills… they have their place for some people. For others, they’re about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Stop overthinking it. Your glutes are working. Train them properly if you want more from them.

27/03/2026

The idea that your pelvis is “out of place” gets thrown around far too easily.

Your pelvis is not some loose bit of furniture that shifts a few millimetres and suddenly ruins your life. It is a strong bony ring made up of the two innominate bones, the sacrum, and the p***c symphysis, held together by very strong ligaments and supported by plenty of muscle.

The sacroiliac joints do not have huge amounts of movement. We are talking very small amounts. So when people say, “your pelvis is out”, what they are usually doing is giving you a dramatic explanation for pain that sounds impressive but does not match the anatomy.

If your pelvis was genuinely out of place, this would not be a casual clinic conversation. You would not be lying there chatting about tight hips and one leg feeling a bit funny. You would be in the emergency room, because a true pelvic disruption usually involves significant trauma and is a medical emergency.

Pain around the pelvis does not mean the pelvis is out. It can mean the area is irritated, sensitive, guarded, or not tolerating load well. That is very different from saying a bone has shifted out of position.

Words matter. Telling people their pelvis is “out” creates fear. Understanding the anatomy makes it a lot harder to keep selling that nonsense.

If you’re looking at the hip and wondering what actually keeps the femoral head alive, it comes down to one main player....
27/03/2026

If you’re looking at the hip and wondering what actually keeps the femoral head alive, it comes down to one main player.

The medial circumflex femoral artery does most of the heavy lifting. It runs posteriorly and gives off retinacular branches that travel up the femoral neck and supply the femoral head. That’s the supply you care about.

The lateral circumflex femoral artery gets talked about a lot, but in this context, it’s not doing much for the femoral head itself.

There are also anastomoses around the hip, like the trochanteric and cruciate networks. They sound impressive, but they’re more about backup routes and surrounding structures than directly keeping the femoral head alive.

There’s also the artery of the ligamentum teres. In adults, it’s basically a bit-part player. Not something you’d rely on.

Now here’s where it becomes clinically relevant.

If you get an intracapsular femoral neck fracture, those posterior retinacular vessels can be disrupted. Once that happens, blood supply to the femoral head is compromised.

And that’s when you start thinking about avascular necrosis.

So when people focus purely on the bone in a hip fracture, they’re missing the bigger picture.

It’s not just the fracture.

It’s the blood supply.

27/03/2026

Disc sequestration is a specific stage of a disc issue, not just a general term.

It starts with changes in the centre of the disc (nucleus pulposus). Pressure builds, the outer layer (annulus fibrosus) develops small tears, and disc material can move outward. If a fragment fully separates from the main disc, that’s a sequestration.

You then have a free fragment sitting in the spinal canal.

In the lumbar spine, this doesn’t involve the spinal cord. The spinal cord typically ends around L1–L2. What can be affected are the nearby nerve roots, which is why symptoms can include leg pain, pins and needles, or weakness depending on the level.

One important point: these fragments can reduce in size over time. The body can break them down. So seeing a sequestration on a scan doesn’t automatically mean surgery.

Symptoms matter more than the scan

Address

Bradley Blair 5/42 Ormiston Road
Auckland
2019

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Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 1pm

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