BOOK YOUR OSTEOPATHY APPOINTMENT HERE!
Rooted Family Wellness Centre offers services, classes, and community to new and expecting families looking to build strong family foundations.
One of those services that we offer is Osteopathy.
Osteopathic manual therapy is an alternative medicine, often recommended for the relief of musculoskeletal dysfunctions and pain management. However, the scope of practice extends to the treatment of respiratory and digestive issues, menstrual irregularities, migraines, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, depression and peripheral or local pain management.
Treatments consist of manual adjustments that focus on relieving pressures and restrictions that the body may experience, while supporting your general wellbeing. Osteopathy takes a whole-body approach to wellness, and is a holistic modality based on the idea that all the systems in the body are interconnected.
The Fundamentals of Osteopathy
Osteopathy is based on the philosophy that the body has an innate ability to heal itself when its components are in balance. The goal of Osteopathy is to restore that proper balance and function, allowing your body to heal through its own natural processes.
The holistic modality is based on an extensive understanding of anatomy and physiology, and is embedded in four fundamental principles:
- The body is a complete unit (Mind, Body and Spirit)
- The body is self-healing and self-regulating
- Anatomy and physiology are interrelated on all levels
- Treatment is based on these three principles
With the four fundamental principles in mind, Osteopathy works to restore balance to all of the systems in the body while promoting general health and wellbeing.
How Osteopathy Works
Osteopathy is a natural form of medicine that views the body as one interdependent and continuous system. Theoretically, Osteopathy aims to restore normality and function throughout the entire body by determining the cause of imbalance and discomfort.
The whole-body approach to wellness that Osteopathy encompasses, consists of manual techniques otherwise known as manipulative medicine.
This involves a subtle, intuitive manual manipulation of bone and soft tissue within the bodies’ limitations. An Osteopath will use a light tactile pressure to find the increased musculoskeletal tone and work to release any tensions with a very slight palpation.
What Osteopathy Can Treat
The holistic treatment of Osteopathy is a system of assessing, diagnosing, treating and preventing a wide range of health conditions. Those being, and not limited to:
- Arthritis
- Foot, Ankle, Hip & Knee Pain
- Hand, Shoulder & Elbow Pain
- Neck, Back and Sciatica Pain
- Headaches & Post-Concussion Syndrome
- Postural Problems due to: Pregnancy, Injury, Work Strain
- Digestive Issues
- Hormonal Imbalances
- Nausea
- Acute & Chronic Injuries
- Fertility
- Mental Wellness
By addressing the structural misalignments of the body, Manual Osteopathy can affect the physiological function and metabolic processes. Therefore, Osteopathy can help treat diseases and dysfunctions that affect the organs, the hormones, the nervous system, and the body as a whole.
As well, the gentle approach that Osteopathy encompasses makes it both safe and beneficial for pregnant people, infants & children.
- During Pregnancy
It is not uncommon for a person to experience imbalances in their body both during and after pregnancy. Some of the conditions that a Manual Osteopath can help relieve in pregnant people include:
- Lumbar discomfort or pain (lower back & pelvic)
- Ligament pain in the pelvic joints
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Digestive problems
- Breech baby
- Traumatic birth
- Posture shifts
A Manual Osteopath will work with the pregnant person to realign the systems of the body in a way that is supportive for both the pregnant person during and after pregnancy.
Gentle manipulation of the pelvis bones and joints in order to promote correct positioning of the baby throughout pregnancy and delivery is one of the most common ways an Osteopath can help assist you during your pregnancy.
- After Pregnancy
Osteopathy is also of great help to parents after childbirth, whether performed with or without medical interventions (such as episiotomy, epidural anesthesia, or cesarean section).
Under these conditions, and even during a “natural” and “easy” birth, the pregnant person’s tissues have undergone a certain level of constraints that should preferably be corrected without too much delay in order to avoid future problems.
Osteopathic sessions can also provide good support for the parent in postpartum depression. The Osteopath chooses then to work on the craniosacral axis to help the nervous system find its balance, which is interdependent of the psycho-emotional state.
- Infants & Children
Osteopathy is a gentle and safe approach for infants and children, and can help re-balance the child’s tensions by working on the whole body. Some of the conditions that a Manual Osteopath can help relieve in infants and children include:
- Trauma from a difficult delivery
- Breastfeeding challenges (latching, preference for feeding on one side)
- Fussiness
- Difficulty setting
- Digestive issues (gas, reflux)
- Crying/Colic
- Head shape asymmetries
- Immune strengthening
- Sinus infections
- Behavioural difficulties
Along with ensuring that your child reaches every milestone in their developmental process, a Manual Osteopath will be able to gently correct any possible areas of tension that your child may experience and prevent possible future conditions.
Here at Rooted Family Wellness Centre, our Manual Osteopaths focus on facilitating the health of joints, muscles, nerves, connective tissue and internal organs through non-invasive manual therapy to help return the body to normal health so it can self-heal and self-regulate.
