“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 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.
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.
What is the difference between Osteopathy and a Chiropractor?
Chiropactor– “Chiropractic embraces the science of life, the knowledge of how organisms act in health and disease, also the art of adjusting the neuroskeleton,” (Early American Manual Therapy, The Chiropractor,D.D. Palmer 1914) The chiropractor adjusts the vertebrae which makes up the spinal column and believes that all life force comes from spine and adjusting the spine will restore tone to the body.
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, treat the soft tissue, organs and hard tissue.