Who Am I ? Andre Duquemin, Osteopath in Guernsey

I am Guernsey born and bred, the son of Mike and Sally both of whom worked in healthcare. I believe that working in healthcare is in my blood, as both my parents worked in the industry. My dad, Mike (or Duque) ran his own physiotherapy practice for 30+ years, and my mum, Sally, was an acupuncturist for many years. I hope that I can bring as much help to others as they have done over the years.

In 1997 I moved to London to study at the British School of Osteopathy (BSO), a very well respected school. I graduated in 2001, and returned to Guernsey later that year, and started my own practice.

Since then I have treated over 2000 people, and really love the work that I do. It’s a great feeling to help someone get some pain relief for a low back pain, or to get more movement in an osteo- arthritic hip. It’s also wonderful to treat the variety of different people, and I can honestly say that without fail all my patients add so much to my working day.

I love working as an osteopath because I get to work every day with great people, who, for whatever reason, need a bit of a helping hand. The best part of it all is that I can play a part, however small, in their recovery. I treat all sorts of people ranging from office workers with neck pain, tradesmen with back aches, grumpy teenagers with computer-games-induced repetitive strain injuries and all those in between. I treat all areas of the body – you name an area of the body and someone has probably presented me with a sore one to treat!

It’s a real pleasure to work with them, and I hope that they gain as much as I do from the work we do together. That’s the thing with osteopathy, it is very much a two way process. You aren’t just a “frozen shoulder”, or a “knee patient” as you may be with a great deal of the other medical modalities – you’re a person in your own right; no two patients are EVER the same. How you feel about your symptoms is every bit as important as how I diagnose them, and I hope that is always reflected in the treatment provided.

I love living in Guernsey and at present live in St Martins with my wife Lynne, and our daughter Isabella.