Osteopathy

Why See an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner?

Everyone is affected by external and internal forces to which we our bodies are constantly responding. When the body structure fails to adapt and self-heal it begins to degenerate. Osteopathic manual therapy addresses the whole somatic pattern making changes to the underlying mechanical dysfunction that is creating reoccurring injury, tension or pathology. This addresses cumulative imbalances in the soft and hard tissue structures. The aim is to understand how these internal and external forces are uniquely playing out in the body, removing the imbalances
created by these forces and restoring a sound foundation to the body structure so that it can better withstand the impacts of daily life. While your goal of treatment may be to return to an activity, improve a range of motion or sustain a level of health, Osteopathic manual therapy will often take your investment in healing yourself and return to you many health benefits in addition to the goals you had initially set out.

A Little Bit Of History:

Osteopathy is an American science that was developed by a physician named Andrew Taylor Still in the late 1800’s. After much study in his practice and many failures using only the medical aids and prescriptions that were in a doctor’s arsenal during that time, Dr. Still began the slow and arduous work of healing the body without medical adjuncts. He discovered that the body could most often heal itself if given free and proper blood flow and fluid drainage through its natural channels, which required the body structure to be in its physiological normal range and to have free mobility within that range. This manual therapy took off as results surpassed anything the population of the United States had seen with the medical profession. A lot less people were dying than under a conventional doctor’s prescriptions, instead they were recovering! Word naturally spread and today, Osteopathy in its now many forms can be found the world over and this type of manual healing therapy is in high demand. Classical Osteopathy refers to the original physical therapy taught by the founder.

What can I expect in a treatment?

To understand the philosophy of Osteopathy, which guides its practitioners, one must perceive that the body works holistically and it is always working towards health. The body’s structure belies its function and if the structure is altered – due to injury, repetitive strain, body posture habits like sitting and sleeping and working positions – its natural healing abilities are often dampened. Osteopathic Manual Practitioners are trained to palpate (assess) your physical structure through your clothing, wearing loose or non-restrictive clothing is helpful so that you have a full range of motion.

Your structure will be assessed in a standing and seated position and then soft-tissue and joint mobilization techniques will be utilized, returning your structure to a more physiologically normal position. Osteopathic Manual Practitioners do not use any high velocity low-amplitude thrust applications and the treatment is slow and
primarily gentle. Treatment will last anywhere from thirty to forty-five minutes, depending on what your body needs. Acute injury treatments will often be shorter in duration with more frequent treatments over a shorter period of time.