Osteopathic Manual Practitioners or Therapist are focused on the hands-on manual body therapy approach. Manual Osteopaths believe that the body has all it needs to maintain a good functioning state and to heal itself when required and that all body systems are interrelated and dependent on one another. We think of each patient as a whole, in its entirety; including, bones, muscles, nerves, organs, fluids, whereby, each body tissue is connected and can affect one another. Have you ever been in a session and find yourself wondering why your Osteopathic Practitioner is also looking at your ankle when you were just coming in for headaches? Here’s why – a sprained ankle may be responsible for your headaches due to your body’s own interrelationships and adaptations. Manual Osteopathic Practitioners are not only treating symptoms; our belief is that we want to look for the root cause, the one that is at the origin of the issue (causing the problem). I...
Osteopathy is a drug-free, non-invasive manual medicine that focuses on restoring health by aligning and strengthening the musculoskeletal framework, which includes the joints, fascia, muscles, and spine.
It also releases tension in the fascia around the organs and aims to improve the relaxation response of the nervous system. Overall, it has a positive effect on the body's nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems.
This therapy is a unique holistic (whole-body) approach to health care. Osteopaths do not simply concentrate on treating the problem area but use manual techniques to balance all the systems of the body, to provide overall good health and wellbeing.
Dr. Andrew Taylor Still established the practice of Osteopathy in the late 1800s in the United States of America, with the aim of using manual 'hands-on' techniques to improve circulation and correct altered biomechanics, without the use of drugs.
The philosophy of Osteopathy is what sets it apart from other medical disciplines. The key principles are based on all parts of the body functioning together in an integrated manner. If one part of the body is restricted, then the rest of the body must adapt and compensate for this, eventually leading to inflammation, pain, stiffness, and other health conditions. Osteopathic treatment assists the body with pain minimization, reduced stress, and greater mobility providing the opportunity for the inherent Health to heal the individual.
Manual Osteopaths use a broad range of gentle hands-on techniques including soft tissue stretching, deep tactile pressure, and mobilization or manipulation of joints.
In some cases, manual osteopaths can complement the advice given by GPs. For example, people who suffer from arthritis are often prescribed medication by their GP. In addition to that, manual osteopaths can ease the pain caused by joint and muscle stiffness, by improving joint mobility and the flow of blood to the joints, and show arthritis sufferers how to prevent causing injury to themselves.
Manual osteopaths believe in working as part of a health system of health providers and often refer back to the G.P. or another allied health professional where appropriate.
Manual osteopaths respect the body's natural ability as a self-regulating mechanism and only intervene when pain or discomfort is present. The benefits of osteopathy are the general improvement in mobility and structural stability of the body. In turn, other systems of the body such as the circulatory, nervous and lymphatic systems function more effectively and for a number of general conditions, minimal treatment is required.
Osteopathic treatment positively affects the nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems, to deliver a more balanced body and better health overall. This combined with good dietary and /or exercise prescription can enhance a patient's well-being and often leads to a positive approach to individual health responsibility.