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This quite often follows pain, especially if relief is slow. Depression can be biological, psychological or environmental. In other words, severe depression can be in the family genetically, and medication is necessary. Erratic hormone levels can be the cause of depression in the case of young mothers and menopausal women.

Natural therapies of homoeopathy and acupuncture are necessary in the treatment of depression. Finally nutritional requirements may be inadequate and atmospheric toxins in air and water and food may be to blame. Heavy metals may be found in the bloodstream so elimination techniques are needed.

Gentian and mustard are the correct Bach Flower remedies for depression. Also in my experience vitamin B3 (niacinamide or niacin) can be just the necessary vitamin to pull you out of it. This should be taken under direction as there is an interesting side effect (hot itchy skin) if the dose is too high or is taken at the wrong time with a hot drink. Don’t self dose.

Lack of direct sunlight can also cause depression but it isn’t noticeable till about three months later. So if you miss your ten minutes of sunshine a day in the winter, you may become depressed in the spring. The cure in Europe is to take vitamin D tablets with calcium, but in a sunny country like Australia, the answer is to have your lunch sitting in the wintery sun. (Don’t sit in the sun in summer if you value your skin!)

With acupuncture, we balance the earth pulses to cure depression along with worry and tension. Many a case of nervous breakdown has been cured in. a week with needles. There are no drugs involved here.

A new mother came for help. She was suffering post-natal depression and didn’t want to have medical treatment if it involved medication while she was breastfeeding. She found looking after the baby tiring and she felt she couldn’t cope.

She was asked specifically about her menstruation before the pregnancy, and she had always had painful and long periods. Her diet was discussed and it was apparent that she suffered cravings for sugar which left her very tired in the afternoons. It was obvious that she desperately needed to correct her diet, especially to include protein at breakfast, and she was happy to have acupuncture to balance the erratic hormone levels. A multi-mineral and multi-vitamin tablet to correct her nutritional status was advised. A specific homoeopathic tablet was given to her and a month later a happy mother came to see me. It was recommended that she have monthly check-ups for the next six months to circumvent a possible relapse.

Post-natal depression is a serious condition if allowed to develop. The tragedy of babies being mishandled is a sad reality. Natural therapies have much to offer. Prevention here is so much better than cure. Depression is often deeply submerged anger.

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There should be no illness associated with this time in a woman’s life when her natural cycle of fertility is coming to an end. There are many factors to take into account, however, and every woman is different.

My experience of thirty years in a predominantly female practice has helped me to prepare the woman for the change (commonly called the climacteric). Those likely to have pain, bleeding, hot flushes, a dry vagina and emotional disturbance are those who have usually had trouble with their menstrual cycle.

Don’t wait for the mid-forties to early fifties to seek help. As soon as a hormonal problem manifests itself after puberty take action immediately.

Your systems need balancing in some way. Maybe your spine needs adjusting; or the chi energies of acupuncture are topsy-turvy; you may need nutritional counselling or your body requires homoeopathic remedies.

From the very first period, if there is menstrual pain, find out why. Taking ‘the pill’ to relieve dysmenorrhoea or acne is just not on. This suppression of symptoms causes complications to a woman’s health later on in her life.

The correction of any structural pelvic problem by a chiropractor is the first consideration. This is not traumatic. It is an easy and uncomplicated adjustment when the injury first occurs. The treatment can be a little more complex with time and age. Falls and sports injuries contribute to these pelvic and spinal strains.

Balancing the chi energies with acupuncture is stunningly effective and it can be done with needles or the laser machine. Combining these two therapies, I find, halves the number of treatments needed and makes it easier for both patient and practitioner.

Correct nutrition is an important adjunct to therapy. If you suffer constant tiredness start with a protein breakfast which usually eliminates the headaches and emotional turmoil that often accompany hormonal cycles. Mineral and vitamin supplements are needed if eating patterns are not good.

Calcium is needed early in life to prevent osteoporosis later on; it also stops heavy bleeding, and magnesium phosphate tablets ease cramps. Many women seem to require mineral supplementation. This is easily determined by a hair analysis. As vitamin C doesn’t store in humans, we need it daily to help prevent broken capillaries as well as for many other conditions. Stress unfortunately depletes our supply of vitamin B found in whole grains.

A mixture of hops, centaury, agrimony, wormwood and bog beans are herbals suggested as a tissane (tea simmered slowly and used as a tonic). Another mix is raspberry, lime blossom and Pulsatilla. My choice for women’s health problems is red clover tea.

Women who decide to take control of their lives and have started to do yoga, tai chi or such in their fifties, have shown dramatic improvement in their health – from alleviating painful intercourse to the equally painful suppression of emotional distress.

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Do this after any strenuous work session and before going to bed. If you do hurt your back again, attempt this exercise immediately. It could save you much trouble. It often releases the muscle spasm before you even get to the clinic.

• On hands and knees, place your hands a bit forward of your knees.

• Keep arms fully extended for this exercise.

• Lower hips to heels, arms at full extension. Then bring the body weight forward against the extended arms. Lower the pelvis to the floor as you hyper-extend the lower back. Let the stomach sag.

• Hold this last position for 5-10 seconds, relaxing the back muscles and letting the pelvis hang.

• Repeat 5-7 times.

The bridge

• Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms extended at the side.

• Elevate your pelvis as high off the floor as possible without undue strain.

• Hold at this height for a slow count of 2 or 3, extend this later up to a count

of 6.

• Relax for a similar count and repeat 5 times.

Feel like a stretch?

• Stand under a doorway, or under an overhead beam. Reach above with both

hands, holding onto door frame or beam.

• Lean trunk weight forward and kick extended leg backwards, mainly on the side

of any leg pain.

• Repeat several times, exaggerating the stretching and hyperextension of the

lower back.

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Women who have had breast operations where one breast has been removed can experience pain in the ribs afterwards. It is a constant source of work for osteopaths to free all the muscle drag that occurs from the weight imbalance.

My recommendation after years of experience with postoperative care for mastectomy cases is that you should have therapy once a month till it settles down. The muscles are freed around the ribs and the dorsal spine may need to be manipulated gently.

Sandra’s story-Sandra suffered acute rib pain, spreading around to her back. She fell on her side at work two years previously. After some conventional therapy of massage and heat treatments, the trouble settled down.

As time passed, pain radiated to her ribs. The X-rays indicated there was no problem, except for a slight scoliosis!

If the X-ray had been taken with her standing, it would have emphasised the rotation in her upper lumbar spine and made the diagnosis clearer. The curves had to be reversed. It took time, patience, effort and understanding.

Rib pain can also be related to referred pain. Ulcers in the stomach will shoot pain into the back, as can heart trouble, hiatus hernia, cancers and a lot of other problems.

Our work looks at the whole person first. A correct diagnosis is always important in any profession. But it’s no good guessing and putting a person on anti-inflammatory drugs because arthritis might be a possibility. Keep on with these drugs and you may soon get a real ulcer with referred back pain. Then it can be said, ‘I told you so.’ It doesn’t take much time to have the spine and ribs assessed professionally once and know there is no structural fault.

One interview won’t delay important investigation. It may not be as bad as you think. We X-ray too to prove the point. Referrals are very quickly given if there is any suspicion of a serious condition. Rib fractures are easily picked up with compression tests and palpation.

Margaret’s story-It happened when I got out of my car to open the gate. My dog jumped in and knocked the hand brake off. The car rolled and pinned me against the fence breaking my leg. But that’s not what gave me the greatest pain. After the leg was out of plaster, I was still having trouble. When I breathed in, I could feel a sharp pain in my right ribs. I went to the doctor again and he told me I just had a posture problem. That didn’t help the pain though.

I then went to see my chiropractor, and after a physical examination, I was told that I had badly sprained a rib. It was fixed there and then and I felt great after one adjustment.

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For all the happiness that mankind can gain Is not in pleasure, but in rest from pain. John Dryden (1631—1700)

There are twelve vertebrae in the middle section of the spine (called the dorsal spine) and twelve corresponding pairs of nerves. When we talk of the thoracic section of the spine, we mean the rib cage as well, which also involves the front of the chest.

The nerve supply from the middle spine radiates out to the organs of the lungs, breasts, heart, stomach, gall bladder, liver and around the ribs into the chest, greatly influencing their function. The lower dorsal spine supplies the nerves to the kidneys — another important organ. Pain in this region makes you feel very vulnerable.

Alternative therapists work to free any interference to normal nerve, blood and lymphatic supply. We believe that all joints must perform freely or good health is affected. This is our philosophy based on clinical experience.

The systems affected by the dorsal spine are mainly respiratory, alimentary and cardiac, i.e. our breathing, digestion, heart functions and – for women – lactation. Spinal trouble in this area can adversely affect these systems.

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