Better Bodies OSTEO

08/02/2026

When I treat headaches, the first thing I look for is tension — not just where the pain is.

This is step 1 of a simple approach I use manually in clinic, plus advice I give people to support it at home.

Full explanation (all 3 steps) is in the comments 👇

03/02/2026

If you are getting lower back pain when you wake up, try this 60-second routine and notice a difference! How to sit up at the end is really key as well :)
If you find it helpful, give this post a like or comment on YouTube, so more people see it 👍
👉 Watch here:

Lower back pain first thing in the morning?Try this 60-second morning routine to help free up your spine before you even get out of bed.In this short video, ...

20/01/2026

Back at work now after a beautiful break up around Mathesons Bay, Goats Island, Tawharanui and Matakana with the family 🌊🌿

From snorkelling 🤿 🏊 walking 🚶, reptile park🦎, reading 📖 and just relaxing doing nothing, I’m feeling refreshed, grounded… and very grateful. The quick reel shows a few snippets 🎥

If the holidays have left you with a few aches, stiff spots, or something that just doesn’t feel quite right, I’m back in clinic and ready to help. Bookings are open online — your body will thank you.

Otherwise, hope you’re well and have a great year ahead in 2026!

22/10/2025

3 exercises to instantly improve posture and mobility 👇

Feeling tight through your shoulders or stiff through your upper back?

These 3 quick exercises will help open you up, improve posture, and keep your body moving the way it’s meant to.

Try them today — your desk job doesn’t stand a chance 👊. Follow and like for more tips 👌

20/08/2025

Big send-off to .mctaggart as he flies out to India tomorrow to represent New Zealand at the 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 🇮🇳🏋️‍♂️🇳🇿.

It’s been a privilege supporting his prep here at Better Bodies Osteo — keeping him moving well, lifting strong, and competition-ready.

Go well next Friday, Cam — the silver fern’s behind you all the way! 🙌🔥

14/01/2025

Let’s talk about mental health and sleep. It turns out that sleep is the first (and apparently the most important) pillar of mental health. I had a great nights sleep last night and actually woke up around 5am (before my alarm went off). It was an early start, I was able to do some reading, feed the chickens, water the plants, it was fully booked with work and I’m about to go to gym. To me it showed the link between good sleep and mental health. I now know that if I actually take some practical steps to improve my mental health (and I’m intentional about it), I really do feel productive, sharper and have a ‘good’ day. So let’s look at some of the science, to show us why sleep is so important.. ⬇️

• Sleep is essential for brain function 😴: It plays a vital role in memory consolidation, learning, and emotional regulation.

• Restores brain chemicals 🧠: Sleep replenishes neurotransmitters that help maintain mood balance and mental clarity, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

• Sleep and stress regulation: Adequate sleep helps the brain manage stress and regulate the body’s response to stress, reducing vulnerability to anxiety and depression. 😔

• Memory consolidation: Sleep strengthens memories and learning, making it crucial for cognitive functioning and problem-solving abilities (important for Osteo work) 🤓

• Neuroplasticity: Sleep enables the brain to rewire itself and adapt, a process critical for emotional resilience and cognitive health. ⚡️

• Deep sleep and emotional regulation: Slow-wave sleep (deep sleep) helps stabilize emotions, making it easier to manage daily stressors and negative feelings 😢.

• Sleep deprivation leads to mental health issues: Chronic lack of sleep contributes to conditions like anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and increased susceptibility to emotional instability. 🤪

• Quality over quantity 💤: It’s not just about the amount of sleep, but the quality—getting restorative sleep, especially in the deeper stages, is key for optimal mental health.

• Sleep hygiene: Maintaining consistent sleep patterns can improve sleep quality and mental well-being.

07/01/2025

Seriously, what practical steps are you taking to help improve, or boost your mental health and wellbeing?

Follow us over the upcoming weeks as we explore different aspects that can either hinder, or enhance your mental health. Some of this content will be from a range of different sources (such as 2 hour podcasts summarised into simple, clear content) to help you be a better version of yourself and at least have some practical knowledge on what you can do. The content will be backed up with science, and recent studies that have been done 🤓

11/12/2024

I just realised it’s been nearly 4 months since I’ve posted 🤫 So here a quick anatomy 1 on 1 talking about arthritis. Osteoarthritis, not rheumatoid arthritis. This is an X-ray of a knee taken in 2016, and then again in December 2024 (recently).

Instead of a smooth, slow ‘bind’ to the end of range in knee flexion, it felt sudden and more like a joint restriction than a muscular restriction, so I sent my patient away for an X-ray which confirmed what we were thinking. In fact, there were more signs of osteoarthritis than expected, given he’s healthy, active and fairly young (many, many years away from retirement).

Some signs you might see in arthritis:
• Joint space narrowing (loss of cartilage height - bones get closer together, compare the 2 X-rays)
• Sclerosis (whitening of the bone) - as the shock absorbing properties of the cartilage are no longer doing its function well, outcome.. more impact on the bones and hardening / more white on X-ray.
• Bone spurs 🦴 - also called ‘osteophytes’ which you can clearly see in the 2024 X-ray with the knee bent.
• Sub-chondral cysts (not seen in these X-rays). Where its bone on bone and little cysts can start to form in the bone structure.

Now you have a better idea of how to read your X-ray report if you ever get one, or how to check for key words that might indicate some osteoarthritis. Anatomy 1 on 1 🤓

13/07/2024

Exciting news… we’ve moved into a beautiful, new premises. We are located inside ‘Embody Strength Studio’ and ‘Base Strength and Conditioning’ - 2 gyms inside the same building 🏋️. They are offering a one week free trial, so if you’re wanting to improve your base strength 💪 and improve your health and well-being (and overall physique 🔥) get in touch with them today!

But have no fear… We are located in Unit 1F / 10 Piermark Drive, Rosedale - literally across the road from where we were.

Hope you are all keeping well and enjoy the amazing sun ☀️ and blues skies.

06/09/2023

So I finished reading the book 📖 on hyperventilation syndrome last weekend, and learnt a lot about the science behind why we do it, and why we get those symptoms I previously mentioned…

Try this… pop one hand on your upper chest (just below your collar bone 🦴) and one hand on your tummy (just above your belly button), and take a breath in. Which hand rises? Bottom or top? Are you able to breathe into your bottom hand or is that a struggle? If you breathe into your upper chest all day, you probably have some sort of hyperventilation disorder (as the book suggests) which could be contributing to your tight neck / tension and many of the other symptoms like tingling / numbness in the fingers/hand 🤚

A lot of it has to do with stress / cortisol / mouth breathing, instead of nasal (nose) breathing. Before you can change it, you need to know you have it, awareness is important.

For more info over the next few weeks, follow us to help try and improve your breathing and drop your levels of stress. Your posture, tension, headaches, anxiety levels, etc. will all thank you for it 😁

30/08/2023

I’m half way through reading a book on breathing pattern disorders, which explains the science behind many of the symptoms that patients can experience. A few of these symptoms include tingling or numbness, frequent deep sighs or yawning, achy muscles or tremors, tiredness, weakness and broken sleep (to name a few). Often the patients are told there is nothing wrong, despite rigorous blood tests, scans and investigation by the doctor.

Very educational and I’ll update you on the reasons why these symptoms occur, and how to reset and normalise your breathing rate and depth, all which is driven by a higher part in your brain called your medulla oblongata 🤓

Always learning and updating my knowledge on the anatomy and physiology of the human body 👌

10/08/2023

This keeps us busy… manual therapists like physios and osteopaths are seeing more and more neck pain and headaches these days, thanks to technology/smart phones. You see it everywhere.. lines, bus stops, work place, gym… Increased load and strain on the neck can cause symptoms like:

• neck pain
• headaches 🤕
• limited mobility / range
• creeking joints
• migraines
• tingling in the hands / arm
• brain fog 🧠
• poor posture
• loss of height 😳😂

The list goes on… what’s your posture like now while reading this post? Straighten up your posture, or book in an appointment next week… Osteo treatment will unload your neck, improve your posture, and get you moving and feeling better 👌

www.betterbodiesosteo.com