Osteopathy is a philosophy of health not just a series of techniques the osteopath are using. This philosophy acknowledges that, in health, the body should be able to automatically adapt to different issues and to heal itself in a state of balance and harmony. The body is always doing its best to maintain a state of balance and can recover from, or adapt to, many traumatic events. However, the body`s resources for coping are not endless and sometimes events occur that are too much for the body to correct without assistance. This is where osteopathy can help.
As the osteopath at Dalkey Osteopathy, I diagnose and treat structural, cranio-sacral and visceral stresses and strains (These will be explained and discussed in a forthcoming blog) that may be interfering with health. Osteopathy is well known to be beneficial for aches and pains in the musculoskeletal structures of the body. Perhaps less well known is that osteopathy can also help with an enormous variety of different symptoms and problems in the tissues and organs – including in the cranio-sacral bones and the spine between, in babies, children and adults. Osteopathic treatments can be quite gentle requiring neither the application of force nor sudden jerking. These more gentle forms of osteopathic treatment can be appropriate depending on the condition being treated and the patient.
At Dalkey Osteopathy, I treat the whole person, not just the areas of the body where the symptoms occur. This is because the cause of a problem can often has it`s origin in another part of the body. It is possible to have several people with the same symptoms but each person has a different reason for developing their symptoms and therefore, needs different approaches. No two patients are the same. Osteopaths are continually seeking to understand and treat the underlying cause of a particular problem, rather than simply treating the symptoms.
Many of the problems like back and neck pain, headache, digestive problems, vertigo, dizziness, frozen shoulder, epicondylitis etc. that osteopaths see in patients, both in adults and children, have their root cause in unresolved issues such as birth stresses, sport injuries, accidents and falls, and even mental stresses and traumas.
By way of illustration, a patient recently presented with chronic back pain. She had tried other mainstream treatments but the pain persisted. Following a consultation with the patient, it emerged that she had suffered a significant ankle sprain years before. This was not treated properly and the body had, over time, compensated by changes to the patient`s posture. These postural changes caused an imbalance in the system which put a strain on the lower back resulting in the pain experienced. Over a number of sessions, the damage to the muscles, tendons, ligaments and small bones of the foot was treated and, as the system returned to balance, self-healing of the body system took place and the back pain was resolved. From this example it can be seen how osteopathy works with the body to resolve patients`s problems.
In forthcoming blogs, I will present other examples of where the holistic nature of osteopathy can be effective when other mainstream treatments are not successful so keep checking-in on my website.
Osteopathy Dublin 