What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a distinct system of diagnosis and treatment, aimed at helping the body’s ability to
move as well as it possibly can. Osteopaths use their hands to identify any abnormalities or
injured parts of the human body, such as muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints. Your body needs
to be balanced and efficient if it is to function properly.
The Human Body is a Dynamic Machine...
Your body will do everything it can to keep your eyes level. It essentially achieves this by
adding spinal curves and/or shortening various muscle groups in response to your environment
and any changes abnormalities or injuries that have occurred. This may work well for a time but
this compensatory response can cause strain to the joints and muscles throughout the body and
result in pain and discomfort. Addressing the problems that caused the body to compensate in
the first place, enables it to move more freely and with minimal stress on any one part.
If a joint isn't working as well as it can do (e.g. through disease, postural adaptation or injury),
another joint is forced to 'work harder' as you move your body around. This can cause
inflammation, ligament strain, muscle strain and a degree of joint damage. All of which can cause
pain and discomfort. It can also reduce the overall level of movement that the body is able to
achieve. Improving the restricted joints ability to move, will reduce the demands placed on the
other joints and muscles in the body, again enabling it to move more freely and with minimal
stress on any one part.
Structures within the body (muscles, joints, nerves, organs, blood vessels etc) are all
sensitive to compression. If a structure is compressed, it reduces its ability to function optimally,
receive nourishment and get rid of waste products. This can result in a wide variety of
“symptoms”. When a nerve is compressed for example, it can cause 'pins & needles', numbness,
muscle weakness or pain. When an organ is compressed, it can lead to symptoms associated
with an alteration in its ability to function. By addressing areas of compression (caused by muscle
spasm, narrowing of bony spaces etc), the body is then more able to function to the best of its
ability, with a subsequent reduction in symptoms.
Why see an osteopathic manual practitioner?
Individuals are precisely that…..Unique. Each person has his or her own combination of body
shape, lifestyle, occupation and personal & medical history. Osteopathy’s main strength lies in its
unique way of assessing patients from not only a mechanical, functional and postural standpoint
but by also taking those other important factors in to account, including emotional health. This
approach enables osteopaths to identify things in your life that may be hindering your body’s
ability to heal itself or resulting in the onset or reoccurrence of your symptoms. It is important that
a full diagnosis and treatment plan is tailored to your needs if you are to benefit from osteopathic
treatment.
Osteopaths aim to identify what’s causing your current symptoms, the initial cause of your pain or
discomfort and anything that may be preventing it from resolving naturally (restrictions and
compensations elsewhere in your body for example). This is why it is so important to get to know
you, what you and your body have been through and what your hopes and expectations are.
Techniques that osteopaths use
Osteopaths work with their hands and use a wide variety of techniques such as:
Soft tissue stretching techniques to release muscle tension
Gentle articulations to realign and improve joint mobility
Mobilizations and gentle manipulation to increase the range of movement of a joint
Cranial treatment, which given its gentle nature is very suitable for babies but can benefit
anyone
Neuromuscular release techniques, which allow a contracted muscle to release and free a
restricted nerve supply
Lymphatic drainage techniques to improve circulation throughout your body and enhance
your immune system
Visceral treatment to ensure proper functioning of all organs (digestive, elimination, emotion)
in your body.
Health advice and exercises may also be given to help to reduce your symptoms and
improve your health and quality of life
Please Note: It may not be appropriate for manipulation techniques to be used in all cases (where
you may get a ‘clicking’ sound). If your osteopath feels that it could be appropriate in your case,
this will always be explained to you prior to the manipulation being carried out. You will also be
asked if you are happy to proceed with the manipulation. If you would prefer a different technique
to be used instead, then you must let your osteopath know. There is always more than one way
to achieve results!
It is important that you are completely comfortable throughout your appointment, so if you are
unsure about anything, you must let the osteopath know.
Osteopathic Treatment Can Provide Benefit For a Wide Range of
Symptoms…
NOT JUST BACKS & NECKS!
Arthritis and general ‘wear & tear’ (also known as osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease or
spondylosis)
Low back pain and discomfort
Headaches, Neuralgia, eye pain and migranes
Postural realignment & work related stresses and strains
Sciatic & referred leg pains
General joint pain, stiffness (also resulting from conditions such as Ankylosing Spondylitis,
Rheumatoid Arthritis, Scheuermann's Disease or Scoliosis for example), or injury.
Pins & needles or numbness from trapped nerves and ‘slipped discs’
Muscle aches & pains
Golfers / tennis elbow
Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
‘Frozen shoulders’
Digestive & respiratory and gynaecological disorders
Discomforts during & after pregnancy
Psychosomatic issues
TMJ Dysfunction
More than just backs & necks! People usually associate osteopathy with back or neck pain
because the word "osteo" conjures up images of bone. Osteopaths are concerned with the health
of the whole body, both inside and out. Changes in posture or poor body mechanics may bring
about spinal alignment problems and muscle shortening, therefore causing other muscles to be
misused and become painful.
Arthritis and General Wear & Tear. Treatment to improve circulation and to help reduce the
strain on arthritic or worn joints (anywhere in the body) can bring relief and help to protect the
affected joints for as long as possible.
Musculoskeletal Tension. People with musculoskeletal pain sometimes complain that their
entire bodies ache. Their muscles may feel like they have been pulled or overworked. Sometimes
the muscles twitch or burn. Other causes of pain include postural strain, repetitive movements,
overuse, and prolonged immobilization. Symptoms vary from person to person, but the common
symptoms are: pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances.
Posture. Keeping your body in any one position for any length of time is going to cause some
degree of muscle tiredness and 'Postural Fatigue'. This is common in people who spend a lot of
time at the computer or driving. This can eventually have influence on the ability of the spine and
other joints in the body, to move as well as they can. This can lead to pain and discomfort
potentially anywhere in the body. The traditional meaning of 'posture' (the way you stand or sit)
will also have an impact throughout your body - as will specific activities such as carrying small
children for periods of time or repetitive actions / sports.
Sciatica is the name usually given when you have 'nerve' pain travelling down the back of
your leg - when the sciatic nerve is irritated in some way. Anatomically, the sciatic nerve starts in
the 'sacral plexus' (a bunch of nerves that come out of the sacrum). It then passes through your
pelvis and passes very closely to (or even through in some people) a muscle in your buttock and
then it carries on down the back of your leg. If this nerve gets squashed or rubbed in any way, it
will cause you pain and discomfort. Osteopaths can locate where the nerve is being compressed
and more often than not, treatment can be given to relieve this pressure and hence your
symptoms! This is true for any nerve pain anywhere in your body.
Joint Pain & Stiffness - whether it's through injury or a condition such as Arthritis,
Ankylosing Spondylitis, or Osteoarthritis, osteopathic treatment aims to increase the circulation
and drainage from the affected joints anywhere in the spinal column, to reduce any inflammation
present and to enable the joints to move as well as they is able to. Part of this is to reduce the
stress that is placed on the affected joints, by ensuring that other parts of the body are working
properly and not adding to the burden! Treatment is usually hugely successful.
Migraines & Eye Pain. Migraines can be caused by compression of the meningeal artery as
it passes through the skull, resulting in poor blood flow and pain. Eye pain can be caused by
uneven tension, or strain of the muscles that attach the eye in to its socket. Very gentle cranial
techniques can be used to release tension and compression in the area, resulting in symptomatic
relief.
What to expect at your first appointment
Your first visit to see the osteopath will last about an hour. A full health medical history will be
taken and important information about your lifestyle will also be discussed. You will also be asked
about your symptoms and factors that affect them.
Wear comfortable fitted clothing. You will be asked to perform a series of simple movements. This
allows the osteopath to identify which structures in your body are causing you the pain or
discomfort and to assess whether your body as a whole is moving as well as it can. A full
examination will then be made, which may include orthopedic (bones and joints), neurological
(nerves), respiratory (lungs) and circulatory (heart and blood vessel) examinations. With your
permission, further tests may be requested from your doctor.
Once a therapeutic goal for your condition has been made, you will then be treated as long as it is
appropriate to do so. Osteopaths work closely with General Practitioners and other Health Care
Professionals. We may wish to refer you if osteopathic treatment is not appropriate for you, or if
you would benefit from medical intervention. An example for referral would be - if following a full
examination, it was indicated that there may be an impingement or your heart caused pain in your
shoulder. It would be appropriate for you to see a medical practitioner, obtain diagnostic imaging,
and in that instance and osteopathic treatment would not be given.
Osteopathy is also a preventative therapy and when used in this way, greatly improves health
and well being, avoiding long periods of discomfort.