

Osteopathic Medicine

Treatment FAq’sHow can Osteopathic Medicine Help me?OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE

What are the benefits of Osteopathic Treatment?

Removes the underlying cause of pain

  • Reduces pain and stiffness in muscles and joints
  • Increases range of motions in the joints
  • Treats spinal problems resulting from poor posture or spinal disk injuries

Relieves chronic pain through non-invasive treatment

  • Decreases the stress on the joints
  • Reduces tension in the body
  • Relieves tension headaches and migraine headaches

Helps the body to adapt to hormonal and structural changes during pregnancy

  • Reduces scars and adhesions

Encourages the body to heal itself

  • Increase circulation
  • Reduces blood pressure

How does Osteopathy help the body to heal itself?

The body is often able to take care of itself, to compensate for injury. However, in some instances, the injury is greater than the body’s ability to adapt or heal. In other instances the body is not currently capable to regroup to be able to heal itself. This inability may be created by a number of reasons, and the injuries, sometimes even minor ones, start to create a problem.

In those cases, treatment is necessary to restore the balance within your body and assist your body to be able to use it natural reserves and strengths to heal itself.

Osteopathic treatments are based on enabling your body to function properly.

Basic principles of Osteopathy are:

  • That all body parts are interconnected
  • That the function of one part of the body is dependant on the normal functioning of the other parts
  • Good circulation is essential in order for the body to get proper nutrients, and for the removal of waste products. Example: What happens to the water in a pool when you leave it for too long, without movement (e.g. if the water pump is broken). The water becomes cloudy, begins to smell bad and algae start appearing. The same thing happens in your body if the normal movement of certain part is restricted. The movement may get restricted due to distortion of the tissue after an injury or due to the pull from some other tight structure that did not heal properly after an old injury. As explained, lack of movement leads to the development of stasis, congestion of bodily fluids and pain and other problems appear.
  • If allowed, the body is able to heal itself. Here is a simple example: When you cut yourself, the cut heals on its own, without any action on your part, i.e. you do not have to use any medication or cream for minor cuts. But sometimes, as the cut, or an injury heals, it may create a scar that may pull on the surrounding tissue. Osteopathy then assists your body, by applying very precise techniques to remove tensions created by an old (that you might have forgotten you had) or new injury. By removing the tension, the body regains its natural ability to function on its own and the tissue, by getting enough oxygen and nutrients, restarts the process of healing itself.

Minor injuries may create a much bigger structural problems eventually if ignored. For example: if you walk in shoes that are too small. First, you are going to feel some slight discomfort, after 2-3 hours, you might start to limp, after 4-5 hours you might start experiencing back pain, and at the end of the day you would most likely feel exhausted, frustrated or irritable. And, it all started with shoes that were just slightly tight. Your family and friends probably would not notice your tight shoes but they would notice the way you walk and your facial expression.

In this case, it is very simple to remove the problem, as the pain will most likely disappear as you take your shoes off, but if you continue wearing them for a few days or months, some of the changes in your walking and posture and spine will start to set in, and it will be harder for the pain to disappear as you take your shoes off. Osteopathic medicine is very beneficial in correcting such issues.