Ben Verling
Ben Verling
Osteopath
Ben moved to the South West from London in 2010 deciding that a better quality of life was needed and is now very happily settled in Topsham, East Devon with his wife and young children. Since the move Ben established a busy practice in Topsham and has worked in a variety of clinics in both Devon and Somerset. It was through working with Jonathan Boxall at the Natural Health Practice in Cullompton that he realised they had a similar outlook in respect of osteopathy and health care in general. It is through this shared philosophy that Ben joined Osteo and Physio as a partner to help bring osteopathic healthcare to a wider audience across mid-Devon
Ben qualified from the British College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2004 with an osteopathic diploma, a naturopathic diploma and a Bachelors degree in osteopathic medicine. Ben’s interest in osteopathy came from studying Psychology at Leicester university and in particular the management and psychosomatics of pain he touched on in the course.
Since qualifying Ben has maintained his professional interests and has attended a diverse collection of courses ranging from the osteopathic care of the older patient to qualifying as a Medical Acupuncture practitioner. He believes that true health can only be achieved by treating the body as a whole and that it is essential to find the cause of the problem, not just treat the symptoms.
Over the last 10 years Ben has noticed many common trends in the problems that he has helped in his patients. This has enabled him to streamline his treatments and the advice that he gives to help restore full movement and comfort where possible. Even with long standing injuries that cannot be cured due to possible degenerative issues it is normally possible to reduce pain and improve function of the sore area to help the patient achieve a better quality of life.
Ben has a great interest in evolutionary biology and anthropology. He believes that by having a greater understanding of where we have come from, in evolutionary terms over the last 2 million years, it gives us greater perspective to apply a lense through which we can assess how our modern day lifestyle can adversely affect the body. An example of this that Ben frequently sees in the practice is work related posture.
Ben believes that good communication is essential so that the patient knows exactly what the problem is and how the practitioner intends to resolve it. He has found that patients find it interesting to understand the basic anatomy of a problem area and does his best to demystify common injuries such as joint strains and disc pain. He finds it incredibly rewarding to help people recover from an injury and to give them a better understanding of how to help prevent the problem from recurring in the future.
