Osteopathy

Osteopathy is a manual therapy that assesses and treats all tissues of the body and assists the body to return to a homeostatic state.  It was created in the United States in the late 1800’s by Andrew Taylor Still.   It is a natural medicine, in that nothing is added (medicine) or taken away (surgery) from the body.  

The philosophy of Osteopathy is that the body is a functioning unit.  All parts must be working properly in order to have health of the whole.  The body is a self regulating, self healing unit where structure governs function.  If there is any impedance in the structure, then the body’s ability to self heal is diminished and that can affect all systems of the body.   

Osteopathic manual therapists look at all systems of the body.  Osteopathy is a science and an art.  Anatomy is key in understanding the human body (science), and the ability to make contact with all tissues of the body is the art.  Andrew Taylor Still looked at the whole person which included mind, body, and spirit.  When treating a body, we are also treating the Being.  Osteopathy includes gentle manipulation of soft tissue, joints, bones, the cranium (cranial osteopathy), and the viscera/organs (visceral manipulation).  Palpation of the tissue and ‘listening’ to the tissues allows the osteopathic practitioner to perceive subtle motion, pliability, texture and temperature changes, and vitality of the structure.  It is in learning the depth of palpation (touch) through years of training that develops the sensitivity of touch.  It is sensing the quality of the tissue in combination with positioning, mobility, and vitality.

Osteopathy treats many facets of dis-ease including, and not limited to:

Back pain, neck pain, joint pain, whiplash, concussions, assisting in fracture healing, TMJ, digestive issues, acute and chronic pain; respiratory difficulties, circulatory issues, postural problems, motor vehicle accident injuries and many more.  Osteopathy is for any age, including infants.

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