Osteopathy is a way of detecting, treating and preventing health problems by moving, stretching and massaging a person’s muscles and joints.
Osteopathy itself is a system of diagnosis and treatment which works with the structure and function of the body, to treat a wide range of conditions.
Maintenance of optimal mechanical function is essential to good health. Problems in the body structure can disturb the circulatory system or nerves to any part of the body, and affect any aspect of health.
Osteopaths aim to return the structure and function of the body to as near a state of balance and harmony as possible, to restore the whole person to a state of good health.
They use a range of techniques, but not medicines or surgery.
Types of Osteopathy
Cranial
Areas of focus: head, sacrum, body as a whole
This is an approach which can be applied to any part of the body, not only the head. It uses the principles of osteopathy to treat in a gentle but powerful way. We believe that the body has the ability to heal and correct itself, moment by moment, to the best level of health possible.
Structural
Areas of focus: the musculoskeletal system
This is perhaps the best-known branch of osteopathy, with its emphasis on the mechanical quality of the tissues, the joints of the spine and the limbs.
Visceral
Areas of focus: the internal organs
A less well-known area of osteopathic work is with the internal organs.
The function of any organ is related to that of its container, the musculoskeletal system, and good health in the lungs, heart or digestive system relies on an efficient structure; likewise if there are restrictions in the movement or position of an internal organ (due perhaps to disease, operation scars or adhesions) there may be a reciprocal effect on the musculoskeletal system.
Assessment and treatment of internal organs is performed along the same lines as the cranial approach, usually in combination with it, and using gentle and subtle methods, to allow the tissues to respond at their own rate to enhance their potential for self-adjustment.
