Osteopathy was developed as a form of manual therapy in the late 1800’s by American Physician, Dr. A.T Still. Osteopaths are trained to be primary health care clinicians who can diagnose and treat a variety of musculo-skeletal conditions.
Osteopaths use a variety of hands-on treatment techniques to help restore movement, reduce pain and improve the way a body is able to function. These techniques may include soft tissue work, stretching, muscle energy (activation) techniques, strain-counter strain and joint manipulation. You may also be given exercises or stretches to complete at home.
Osteopathic treatment is based on the following principles of osteopathy:
The Body Is A Unit
Although our body is made up of many different parts, the function of any one of these components relies on the function of all of the others. This means that your injury/condition and its impact on you will be considered in the context of the impact it may be having on your whole body.
The Body Has The Ability To Be Self-Healing And Self-Regulatory
In the case of body pain, the Osteopath’s aim is to assist your body to recover from, or cope with, the injury or condition which is causing pain. They do this by using manual treatment which aims to remove any restrictions or obstacles to the healing process. This allows your body to work as well as it can and promotes recovery from injury.
Structure And Function Are Inter-Related
This means that a change in the structure of a joint or body part (through injury or pathology i.e: arthritis) will cause a change in the way that the body part will function, and vice versa. That is, if the function of a joint is altered via poor posture for example, it may lead to a change in the structure through wear and tear.
Where possible, Osteopaths at Canberra City Health Network seek to remove any restriction or impairment in the body structures (muscles, joints or connective tissues) to allow optimal function to occur. In the case of permanent changes to the body’s structure through injury or pathology, osteopathy aims to promote the very best function that is available.