- July 13, 2022
Osteopathy FAQs
What is Osteopathy?
What Can an Osteopath Treat?
- Headaches
- Arthritis
- Back pain, neck pain, and sciatica
- Tennis and golfer’s elbow
- Foot, ankle, hip, and knee pain
- Neuralgia
- Hand, shoulder, and elbow pain
- Problems with posture-related to digestive issues, pregnancy, sports injury, driving or work strain
What are the Four Principles of Osteopathy?
From the beginning of their training, Osteopaths are trained to approach patient care and treatment from a holistic or “whole-person” perspective. As a result, much of their patient care and treatment planning centers around four principles.
The body is a unit; the person is a unit of body, mind, and spirit.
The body is a unit capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance.
Osteopathic medicine centers on the concept that health is the natural state of being for the human body. It is believed that the body possesses complex self-regulatory mechanisms that allow it to heal itself from injury and illness. In times of disease, if a particular body part is functioning, at a reduced capacity, other parts of the body attempt to compensate for the dysfunction, which could lead to further or worsening concerns. Osteopathic physicians work to adjust the body to realign the parts to normal so that all parts function at their optimum capacity.
Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
This Osteopathic principle states that the structure of a particular body part governs how it functions. Therefore, abnormal structure leads to dysfunction of that body part or body system. Because function and structure are intertwined, if the body’s overall structure or overall functioning is weakened, the body’s capacity for self-healing will also be limited.
Rational treatment is based upon an understanding of the basic principles of body unity, self-regulation, and the interrelationship of structure and function.
The fourth principle effectively summarizes and encompasses the previous three. The principle states that the basic Osteopathic principles above permeate throughout all aspects of health, including maintenance, disease prevention, and treatment of illness. An Osteopathic physician diagnoses, examines, and treats their patients by calling upon each of these three principles as part of their patient care.
Can an Osteopath Do More Damage?
How Many Osteopathy Sessions Do I Need?
What Kind of Training Do Osteopaths Have?
What is Manual Osteopathy?
What are Some Techniques of Osteopathy?
- Spinal manipulation - this technique is also referred to as high-velocity thrusts. Your Osteopath uses short, sharp movements to the spine, which produce clicking or cracking sounds similar to what you would hear when cracking your knuckles.
- Soft tissue massage – gentle massage is used to release and relax tight or strained muscles, which could impact the alignment of your joints.
- Articulation – gentle, rhythmic joint movements are used to move your bones and joints through their natural range of motion allowing the joints and associated ligaments to stretch and release tension.
- Stretching muscles and joint capsules
- Muscle energy techniques – encouraging muscles to work against resistance
- Visceral manipulation – gentle movement of the abdominal and pelvic areas. This type of treatment is used to treat organs in the stomach, including the liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, stomach, and intestine, as well as organs in the pelvic area, including the bladder and uterus. Osteopathic treatment in these areas can help improve organ mobility, blood flow, and organ function.
How Does Osteopathy Help Posture?
What Should You Expect at the First Appointment?
Can Osteopathy Help with Nerve Disorders?
Is An Osteopathic Doctor the Same as a Chiropractor?
Osteopathic physicians, like chiropractors, are “manual doctors.” This means their work involves manually manipulating joints and other body parts to relieve pain and discomfort. However, the approaches Osteopathic doctors and chiropractors use to achieve healing differ significantly.
Chiropractors can indeed treat back, neck, and joint pain; however, their focus is generally on a specific area and the position or alignment of the spine and other joints with the end goal of improving nerve function and healing ability. When you go to a chiropractor, they are more likely to manipulate the joints through adjustments (cracking or popping). While an Osteopathic physician also uses manual techniques, they focus on the entire body or whole person rather than a particular problem area.
Osteopathic medicine offers a drug-free, holistic option for addressing many common pain concerns. This effective, whole-person approach to healing relies on the body’s own regeneration and restorative capabilities. If you would like to learn more about Osteopathic medicine or how this popular, non-invasive treatment tool may be able to help you achieve lasting recovery from pain, search for an osteopathy clinic near you and schedule your consultation in seconds.