What is Manual Osteopathy

Manual Osteopathy is a form of hands on therapy with a primary focus of restoring function and eliminating pain by addressing the root cause of the pain, imbalance, injury or illness.

How is Manual Osteopathy Treatment Different from Traditional Physiotherapy and Chiropractic?

A Manual Osteopathic Practitioner is trained in the four main types of hands-on osteopathic sub-disciplines: Osteo-articular adjustments, Fascial release, Cranial-sacral techniques and Visceral Manipulation. Osteo-articular adjustments and fascial release may sound familiar as they are utilized in professions such as physiotherapy and chiropractic commonly known as Manual Therapy. Visceral Manipulation is a form of gentle manual therapy to assess and treat the viscera (organs), their position, suspension system and fascia/ligaments from which they directly attach to the muskuloskeletal system. Imbalances in the viscera and its connective tissue can be directly related to posture and postural imbalances and can impact many systems such as the muskuloskeletal, nervous, vascular, respiratory and digestive systems. The cranial-sacral system consists of the bones of the head and spinal cord as well as the membranes and fluid that surround and support the brain and spinal cord and attach directly to the bones. Dysfunction of any part of this system could have local effects such as headaches, migranes or pain along the spine from the neck to the low back or nervous system symptoms like nerve impingement or end organ dysfunction such as digestive, respiratory or gynecolocigal complaints.

Benefits of Manual Osteopathy?

If you have received traditional physiotherapy, chiropractic or massage therapy and feel that you have reached a plateau or the pain seems to still come and go without resolution, it is possible that the visceral or cranial-sacral system may be a component in your pain/injury and also need to be treated. That being said, Manual Osteopathy is an effective treatment on its own as well as in conjunction with physiotherapy, chiropractic and massage therapy.

What Conditions Does a Manual Osteopath Treat?

Manual Osteopathy can help you if:

1. You have had a traumatic injury, fall, accident or sports injury
2. You have postural imbalances
3. You are postpartum
4. You had surgery
5. You continue to experience pain after receiving conventional treatment or the pain continues to return
6. You are suffering from digestive problems, migraines, menstrual pain or unexplained pain or symptoms

What Does a Visit with a Manual Osteopath Look Like?

Your session with a Manual Osteopath consists of a full body assessment from head to toe. One of the main philosophies of Osteopathy is that the body functions as a unit and you cannot separate any part from the whole, therefore all of the interconnected relationships are assessed to find the root cause of your complaint. Then the appropriate hands on techniques will be utilized to address the problem.

A Manual Osteopath can help:

• Remove the underlying cause of pain by reducing stiffness in muscles and joints and improves joint range of motion
• Improve posture that contributes to spinal pain or injury
• Relieve chronic pain by decreasing stress on the joints, tension in the body and by improving alignment to address the root cause of the pain
• Reduce scar tissue and adhesions
• Improve function of the organs
• Improve digestion, menstrual pain, respiratory conditions, headaches/migraines, knee pain, tennis elbow etc.
• Treat traumatic injuries such as falls and sports injuries

Please see your Manual Osteopathic Practitioner for an assessment and to see if this treatment technique can help you.