Ever Wondered What Osteopathy Is?

When you examine osteopathy closely, you will notice that it really is a manipulative therapy that has the intention of working on the entire body's structure including the skeleton, muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue. The affects of manipulative therapy are the relief of pain, improvement in mobility and function, and a restoration of the body to all-around health.

Our bodies are made to function as a complete unit with one system or part complimenting and connecting to the others. Our body structure, emotions, mind, organs and other systems affect one another are all apart of the total body structure. A dysfunction in one part of the body be that the emotions, mind, an organ or one of the systems such as the respiratory system; can have an impact on the rest of the body. When things go wrong with the body internally, it can be revealed in the body's structure as discomfort, disease or pain.

Osteopathic physicians understand this connection which is why they ask so many questions when you visit them. They listen carefully to your answers, then make an assessment of your posture, check the alignment of your hips, legs and spine testing how well they move and also palpating tissue as it moves. This type of testing is called "movement testing".

There is another type of movement testing called, "passive movement testing", and it is done while the patient is sitting, standing and walking. If movement is restricted in any manner, this can be indicative of a problem within the body. The examination will be conducted by palpation and movement, and also testing of the joints. There may be an occasional need for further tests such as X-rays.

Osteopathic physicians use a wide range of techniques to treat individuals using direct contact and indirect contact. The choice of technique will depend on the state and position of the muscles or bones involved. This is helpful to know before you begin finding a doctor of osteopathic medicine.

Osteopathy is a drug-free, non-invasive manual medicine with a belief that the total body should be treated and strengthened and not just a single part that is presenting ailment. When the entire body is treated including the joints, muscles and spine there is a positive affect on the systems of the body including the circulatory, lymphatic and nervous systems. The whole body (holistic) approach differs from the traditional western medical practices that typically treat just the presenting injury or ailment.