What does a Manual Osteopath do?
Manual Osteopaths use a variety of techniques to address imbalances in the body, from a whole body perspective. This includes treating muscles, bones, joints, organs and fascia through the soft tissues of the body to achieve and maintain structural balance and health.
Treatment methods
Manual Osteopaths identify, assess, and treat the body’s structures and rhythms using a gentle, hands-on fundamental technique called osteopathic palpation. Individuals who work in this field develop a very fine sense of touch - to master osteopathic palpation, which makes it different from other forms of therapy.
Advanced Fascia Release
Manual osteopaths use advanced fascia release in many different ways. In general, they use it to evaluate the condition of tissues, and to help the body’s fluids (such as blood and lymphatic fluid) flow smoothly. Keeping fluids flowing smoothly reduces harmful fluid retention and makes the body’s immune system function more effectively.
Fascia is tissue found in all parts of the body. It connects all of the body’s structures at both the superficial and deep levels. Practitioners evaluate the fascia to find areas of restriction, and then use soft tissue manipulation to make certain the length and tension of the fascia are properly balanced. Throughout the treatment, practitioners continue to check the state of the body’s tissues. If one technique isn’t working to correct a restriction, another approach is taken instead. Above all, manual osteopaths try to restore health without over-treating.
Osteoarticular
Manual Osteopaths use this technique to reduce muscle spasms near a joint, ease neurological irritations around a joint, making them more mobile, and also reducing pain and discomfort.
The osteoarticular technique involves gently moving two joint surfaces. Before doing this, the practitioner carefully prepares the soft tissues around the treatment area. The patient is also moved into a position that will minimize, or eliminate the energy and force needed to perform the maneuver. Many patients find this technique less forceful than joint manipulations.
Craniosacral
This is very gentle osteopathic treatment, requires great experience. To learn it, Manual Osteopaths undergo intensive training - sensitizing their hands to cranial mobility, and developing great precision in utilizing cranial techniques.
Practitioners use this gentle technique to assess and treat the mobility of the skull and its contents. They may also use it to assess and treat the spine, the sacrum, and other parts of the body. The goal is to adjust the body’s physiology by restoring balance to the circulation of the blood and other body fluids. Manual osteopaths do this by treating the body’s inherent biorhythm. They are able to feel this rhythm in the patient’s head, spinal cord, and in the sacrum, as well as the rest of the body. Manual osteopaths use the biorhythm to assess the patient’s condition, and may, as a result, modify the technique during the course of a treatment.
Visceral Manipulation
Manual Osteopaths use visceral manipulation to treat organs and viscera of the body, including the liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, pancreas, intestines, bladder and uterus. Patients may feel pain in one or more of these organs, or the viscera may be less pliable than it should be. The structures themselves, as well as the fascia (connective tissue) that surrounds them are gently moved to restore full movement. Most patients treated with visceral manipulation feel only the gentle pressure of the manual osteopath’s hand, but the corrections are powerful enough to improve the mobility of an organ, as well as blood flow, and help the organ function more effectively.
The above (and many other) osteopathic manual techniques and approaches are used in a coordinated and rational fashion to slowly adjust the client’s anatomy and physiology towards normal, so that the body can heal itself.
This information was taken from the
National Manual Osteopathic College website
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