‘Osteopathy’ is quickly becoming a buzzword in health and wellness and people are keen to understand just why so many are turning to a Manual Osteopathic Practitioner for their treatment and just what it addresses and of course, how it works.
In this blog post, Barbara Lukac, M.OMSC, answers some of the most popular questions about Osteopathy.
What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy’s philosophy is based on the body’s ability to self-heal and self-regulate when free from any obstructions, restriction of motion or bony mal-alignment. With the complete knowledge of anatomy and physiology and their association with health and disease, an Osteopath can work to find the root cause of an issue, as opposed to dealing with just the effects, through manual adjustments. This helps to return the body to its optimum naturally.
“The work of an Osteopath is to adjust the body from the abnormal to the normal; then the abnormal condition gives place to the normal and health is the result of the normal condition” A.T. Still – founding father of the osteopathic profession.
Osteopathy has four main principles:
- The body is a unit
- It has its own self-protective and self-regulating mechanisms
- Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated
- Treatment considers the preceding three principles
Osteopathy treats the body as a unit, as a whole. All systems, muscles, nervous, organs, glandular and vascular (blood) work together to make the body work as a whole. One area cannot be in dysfunction without affecting another area. For example, organs and muscles are supplied by the same set of nerves, so when a muscle is in dysfunction it can cause bowel, digestion, kidney etc issues. This is called a somatic (muscle)- visceral (organg) reflex. There are also other reflexes in the body that can create issues such as somatic-somatic, somatic-visceral and physcosomatic reflexes. This is why Osteopathic Practitioners treat the entire body, the soft tissue, the organs and the joint spaces.
Osteopathic Practitioners use hands on techniques that require minimal to no effort from you.
Specific techniques may include:
- Soft tissue manipulation
- Positional release techniques
- Myofascial release
- Lymphatic drainage
- Osteopathic articular technique
- Visceral manipulation
- Muscle energy techniques
- Strain-counterstrain
- Cranio-sacral techniques
- Neuromuscular techniques
- Trigger points
What can Osteopathy treat?
- Acute and Chronic issues
- Trapped nerves (Sciatica, Carpal Tunnel)
- Low back pain
- Joint dysfunction (hip, knee)
- Shoulder tension
- Postural Alignment
- Bowel and Digestive Issues
- Numbess and tingling in limbs
- Musculoskeletal (soft tissue and bones)
Who is Osteopathy good for?
Osteopathy is good for everyone, if you are suffering or dealing with any issues that is causing decreased range of motion, muscle tension, joint discomfort, constipation, diarrhea, incontinence, reproductive issues, infertility, and more.
What can you expect from Osteopathic treatment?
A thorough intake of health history, a thorough assessment and a treatment. The first osteopathic treatment can be general or specific depending on what the patient presents with. A full assessment gives the practitioner an understanding of what is going on mechanically and physiologically so he/she can provide the best treatment possible. Osteopathy finds and treats the main cause of the problem, but a few treatments might be needed because the body compensates to maintain normalcy and those compensations need to be removed in order to get to the root of the problem.
Have questions?
Connect with our Manual Osteopathic Practitioner, Barbara Lukac at barbaral@thrivemassagewellness.com