What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is an allied health profession which uses manual therapy to assist the body achieve optimal health. Osteopaths assess the body as a complete working unit and consider that all the bodily systems need to work in unison. This will involve assessment and treatment of any problems found in the bodies bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments, nerves, veins, arteries, lymphatic channels, internal organs, posture, how the body moves, occupation and lifestyle. Your Osteopath will be looking of anything that may affect optimal structure and function.
What conditions do Osteopaths treat?
Osteopaths are most well known for their effective and proven treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. These include but are not limited to:
Back and Neck pain
Spinal and Sacroiliac Joint Pain
Disc Injuries: Bulges and Protrusions
Sciatica and Radicular Nerve Pain
Whiplash Injuries
Headaches: Tension, Cervicogenic, Sinus
Migraines
Osteoarthritis
Joint Pain i.e. Jaw, Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist/Hand, Hip, Knee, Ankle/Foot
Planter Fasciitis
Occupation and Repetitive Overuse Injuries
Ligament Sprains and Muscle Strains
Tendinosis and Tendonitis
Sporting Injuries
Osteopathy can be helpful in the management of Pregnancy. Treatment throughout the pregnancy can assist the body adapt to the changes and reduce musculoskeletal pain associated with these changes. Treatment will help prepare the body for birth and assist in the recovery after birth.
How Do Osteopaths treat?
Osteopaths treat using a "hands on" approach and have an array of effective techniques to enhance the body’s structure and function.
General Osteopathic Techniques are made of up the following:
Soft Tissue Massage: the application of pressure to a muscle and or connective tissue in order to reduce tension, scaring or move fluid
Joint Articulation: the application of a gentle and repetitive movement to a joint in order to increase its range of motion
Joint Mobilization: the application of a very quick and specifically directed force toward an area of joint restriction to increase this joints range of motion. Please note that this technique will only be perform if your Osteopath believes that you meet a very strict criteria
Muscle Stretching: the process of elongating and lengthening a muscle in order to improve its elasticity and tone
Muscle Strengthening: the process of contracting a muscle against resistance in order to improve its ability to provide support and increase bone density
Strain and Counterstain: the process of identifying tender points within a tissue and then placing that tissue in its position of ease in order to rebalance
Functional: the process of moving a structure into its position of ease and allowing for rebalance to occur
Visceral: the application of Soft Tissue Massage or Functional Techniques to the visceral organs in order to have optimal functioning
Exercise Prescription: the prescription of exercises to correct muscular imbalances and postural compensations
Your Osteopath is specifically trained to know which technique will be most effective and safe according to you and your presenting condition.
What is the difference between Osteopaths, Physiotherapists and Chiropractors?
It is best to ask a qualified Physiotherapist and Chiropractor to accurately describe how they would define their profession.
However, broadly speaking, each of the three professions come under the banner of “manual therapists” and can therefore treat similar conditions. The difference between the three professions becomes apparent in their defining principles, philosophies and therefore treatment.
Osteopaths treat the body more completely and wholistically. They will see that, for example, your lower back pain needs to be examined and treated in the context of your whole body. Osteopaths will take into consideration how you hurt lower back, isolate the pain causing tissue, look for any predisposing factors and assess if any other area of the body has been compromised i.e. pelvis, hips, lower limbs or upper back. You may have had a previous knee injury which has meant that you favour that side of the body or that you have had past abdominal surgery which has resulted weakened core abdominal muscles. There is a biomechanical relationship between these regions and the lower back; each is reliant on the other for correct functioning. Compromise in one area places more load on another and therefore predispose that region to injury.
Your Osteopath will take all this into consideration and devise a treatment plan tailored to your presentation. Treatment will not just involve the lower back but also those other regions identified as a problem. Drawing on the vast array of effective Osteopathic Techniques all of which are designed to optimize the body’s structure, function and injury prevention focus will not only be made on the musculoskeletal system but take into consideration other components that are required for successful healing i.e. adequate blood supply, lymphatic drainage, nerve supply etc.
It is this "whole body, multi-system" approach that has been the basis of Osteopathy’s success over the last 100 years.
