You may have heard of osteopathic therapy, but what is it?
Osteopathy is a patient-centered approach to health. It focuses on manual therapy designed to help systems and structures of the human body function better by restoring the body back to homeostasis to optimize your overall health.
Osteopaths use a wide array of manual approaches to reduce and resolve strains, stress, and dysfunction in all body areas. The goal is to remove restrictions to vascular, neural, and biomechanical mechanisms, ultimately supporting the body's natural healing processes by promoting its automatic desire to self-regulate!
What techniques do Osteopaths use?
Skilled palpation and detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics guide the Osteopath to assess and restore balance within and between all the systems of the body; musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, neurological, cranial, and visceral.
Specific Techniques include:
Soft tissue manipulation
Positional release techniques
Myofascial release
Lymphatic drainage
Osteopathic articular technique
Visceral manipulation
Muscle energy techniques
Craniosacral techniques
Neuromuscular techniques
What should I expect?
Osteopaths start with an initial questionnaire and assessment to evaluate patient pain and function. During the assessment, the osteopath will get an understanding of the your history and other lifestyle factors that may be contributing to the your discomfort.
The examination will usually last anywhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours. During this time, the Osteopath may use hands-on techniques like palpation to examine the position, mobility, and vitality of the tissue. They also look for signs of congestion, dehydration, scarring, stiffness, density, and loss of resilience.
Common conditions treated by Osteopaths include:
Neck and back pain
Sciatica
Migraines
Fibromyalgia
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Chronic fatigue
Plantar fasciitis
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Tennis elbow
Frozen shoulder
Scoliosis
Whiplash
Post-operative pain or adhesions
Tendonitis
In addition to treating current conditions, osteopathy is also a great resource for injury prevention and maintenance of good health!
Looking for more information about osteopathy and want to explore if this treatment is right for you? Our wonderful Osteopathic Manual Therapist, Mike Viani, would be happy to help! If you do not want to jump in with both feet, he also does free 15-minute consults.
Book an assessment with Mike today by calling (403)-282-2545 or book online by clicking here!
To learn more about Mike and Osteopathic Manual Therapy, check out his website: https://atlasosteo.com/
Hope you enjoy the remainder of this beautiful summer!
Sincerely - The Team at Fix Physio :)