BEING inspired by her father’s work in complementary healing and medicine, ABBIGAIL LANGSTONE-WRING has carved a successful 20 year career as an osteopath practising in Weymouth.
Here, she talks to View reporter PAUL CROMPTON about her inspiration to follow in her father’s footsteps and why she wanted to keep the family business going.
IN an age when skills and knowledge are rarely passed on from one generation to another, as sons and daughters move onto different career paths, a Weymouth family is bucking the trend with three generations practicing the art of osteopathy and alternative medicine.
Having been inspired to help people after seeing patients walk out of her father’s practice relieved of the pain they carried with them as they went in, Abbigail Langstone-Wring currently runs a practice in Weymouth.
Starting out under Professor George Lewith in Southampton, Abbigail says she thinks she was accepted onto the course because of her father, who was an eminent man in complimentary therapy.
She then took her second professional degree in 2002, becoming the first complimentary practitioner to take an inter-professional health and social studies BSc.
Abbigail has been practicing her medicine, which incorporates homeopathy, and massage, for the past 20 years after moving into complimentary therapy via reflexology.
Pam Garret was her inspirational mentor, beginning her training, before she moved on to learn under Beryl Crane – currently the president of the International Council of Reflexology - in Bristol.
Abbigail said: “I’ve had some incredible teachers, I’ve been very, very lucky.”
However, Abbigail admits it was her father who really inspired her from the beginning.
She said: “I got into it through my father really.
“I was used to seeing patients around at my father’s practice bent double in terrible pain and then walk out of his treatment rooms clearly better, it was quite an inspirational thing to witness.
“He had terrific skills in osteopathy and of course with allergy and food sensitivity testing it helped so many people and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
It is the discovery and treatment of ailments which still keeps Abbigail focused and passionate about complimentary healing even after the past two decades.
“Obviously working with people and trying to problem solve and trying to find out the cause of symptoms, rather than treat the symptom; I try to dig down under and find the cause,” she said.
“If I cannot find out through the VEGA test then I need to look further to find the cause. It’s a complete holistic approach to individual health issues really, and that can be a combination of emotional and physical issues.”
Abbigail explained the process by which she treats a patient: “First they come to me with a problem, then we usually discuss the range of symptoms, they may not be connected; for example they could come in with a headache which may be linked with irritable bowel syndrome.
“I ask when the headaches happen to try and find out whether it’s connected with food, if it happens when they eat, for example, and see what else the headache links in with.
“Then we would look at dates and any possible link with food allergy or food sensitivity. I’m not just treating the symptoms of headache. It’s like to trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle.
“Then I work out a treatment strategy to find out what’s best for the client. Most people find they don’t need to come after then first visit because most find out the problem in that one visit. But it’s very much condition specific.”
Of course some symptoms are harder to pinpoint. It is then Abbigail will either refer the patients to other health care professionals or seek guidance from her father Edward Jackson.
Having retired 10-years-ago, Abbigail’s father now acts as a consultant after a 40 year career as an osteopath, which he started after leaving the Royal Navy at the end of World War II.
“I’m very proud of my daughter, she’s very clever,” Edward said, adding: “Now and again she asks a couple of questions, but of course now at my age I’ve forgotten more than I remember.
“I got quite a reputation in Weymouth, people were coming to me for years and years and then they brought their children along.”
Just like his daughter, Edward said the best part of his job was helping people.
“I’ve had a happy life helping lots of people,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of pleasure helping people, an awful lot of pleasure.”
He said he saw complimentary therapy as another arm of orthodox medicine, adding: “both medicines should pull together, I’ve always felt this. One should help the other out. If I cannot help out I would recommend someone goes to a GP to get help.”
It is easy to see when speaking to them both that a certain amount of Edward’s philosophy on medicine has rubbed off on his daughter. The pair even visited China together to study the art of Acupuncture, something Edward had been interested since he left the navy.
And as father and daughter worked and learnt side by side so does mother and daughter, with Jessica Fortune joining the family career path to start her own business offering massages, Indian head massage and reflexology after studying Swedish massage alongside her mother at Weymouth College.
A former Dorchester County Hospital agency nurse, Jessica has only recently got involved with alternative medicine.
She said: “It’s just an alternative to standard medicine I suppose. The massage is a great stress reliever.
“I find it interesting, making a difference to people from all walks of life.”
And so it’s just another member of the family finding simple joy in the complex world of relieving peoples stresses and strains.
Abbigail sums up the process and delight of the continuing family career thread by saying:
“Years ago if your father was a shoe maker you would be in the family business, but now days people really don’t tend to carry on, but I think the knowledge and skills that I’ve had passed on to me and what I can pass on to my daughter is just wonderful, it’s just wonderful that that knowledge can go on.”
For more information telephone Abbigail on 01305 784986.
Abbigail changed my life i have a lot to thank her for
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