Osteopathic Manual Therapy
Osteopathy
Osteopathy is a holistic manual approach to treating the human body that was started by Andrew Taylor Still, a physician who wanted to treat the body without the use of drugs. He had a deep passion for anatomy and was convinced that to help the body, the Osteopathic Therapist needed to find and correct anatomical deviations that interfere with the free flow of blood and “nerve force” in the body.
Over time, Osteopathy evolved into what it is today. Osteopathic Manual Therapists go through a lengthy training process to see pain their anatomical and physiologic knowledge of the human body, as well as training their palpation (feeling with hands during a physical exam) to be very sensitive to different textures, temperatures, tensions, and movement (or lack thereof) in the body’s tissues. This knowledge is then applied to a thorough assessment through a wide range of systems to find the root cause of the person’s complaints.
While the cause of the complaint can be local (ie: your low back pain can be from a facet joint dysfunction in your lumbar spine), it can also stem from further away, or from a different system than the one being “loud” by giving pain signals. To not rush through this process, Osteopathic appointments tend to run between 45 and 60 minutes. Some therapists will even take longer than that!
Osteopathy is a great choice for acute issues as well as chronic ones, especially the chronic issues that don’t quite feel like they are resolving with your current modality of treatment.
Paediatric Osteopathy
Paediatric Osteopathy is the focus of treatings infants and children to help support them through all of their stages of growth and development.
Being born is one of the toughest events that we will ever go through. The descent through the birth canal or even a c-section can lead to tension, patterns, or strains that can restrict your baby in minor ways but with a big impact on their function. A paediatric osteopathic practitioner will go through a specific set of tests to assess where the tension is, then apply very gentle techniques to release what they find. A little check-in and tune-up is a wonderful welcome into the world. Osteopathy can help babies with:
Latching problems
Reflux
Flat spots
Colic
Constipation
Sleeping issues
As littles leave the infant stage and go through the toddler phases and beyond, they’ll get occasional bumps and bruises that can lead to tensions and restrictions in their biomechanical movements. Treatments throughout infancy and childhood help support a child’s development and guide functional patterns and behaviours that will best serve them into adulthood.
