Osteopathic Manual Medicine

Osteopathy is a medical art and science. From its "rebirth" in the western world in the late 1800s, osteopathy knew the ancient and universal truth that the body works as One harmonious system, concept that they stipulated among their main principles of philosophy and practice:

	The human being is a dynamic unit of structure and function.
	The body possesses self-regulatory mechanisms, which are self-healing in nature.
	Structure and function are interrelated at all levels.
	Rational treatment is based on these principles.

In other words the entire body if adequately nourished, functions to maintain, repair and heal itself to its best advantage if its structure and physiological functioning are in proper order. In this state of inner balance, the body is able to produce all necessary "medications" from its own "pharmacy" (the neuro-endocrine system). When we think and feel tranquility, our body produces our own brand of valium that will bathe all our cells in a sea of peace. This is slightly different from the synthetic valium manufactured by drug companies that will leave you with some side effects, in small print on paper, but with obvious consequences at cellular level. When we are anxious, we produce stress hormones such as adrenalin, noradrenalin and cortisol that put our body in a state of restlessness. When we feel exhilarated, exuberant and happy we produce interleukin and interferon that have been found to effectively treat cancer. So, wouldn’t you rather be in a state of happiness and heal yourself using your built-in mechanism?

Our body is the best drug-producing company and laboratory there is. Upon demand, we will create our own anti-depressants, anti-cancer, anti-biotics, pain relief medication etc. with no prescription needed, literally no side effects, in the precise dose and concentration and administered exactly where it is needed for as long as it is needed.

Our body is capable of producing over 700,000.00 known substances. These are the key components of extremely sophisticated processes that allow us to adapt second-by-second to the ever-changing environments inside and outside our bodies. No human can possibly even begin to comprehend and see this whole picture. Therefore an attempt to chronically (over a longer period of time) influence these processes by prescribing outside drugs seems to be at least questionable.

Our perception and interpretation of the environment we live in will direct our body to produce the appropriate biochemical responses. Our intentions, thoughts, feelings and how we choose to act upon them are literally (biochemically) determining the life we are manifesting.

This inner balance (homeostasis) implies that all parts of the body including the components of the skull are in correct relationship to one another and free to move within their normal range of motion and also a normal blood and nerve supply is ensured.

Osteopathic Manual Medicine is dedicated to the treatment and healing of the entire body, rather than approaching a patient's symptoms. Treatments are aimed at establishing and maintaining a state of Health as well as prevention and alleviation of disease.

How Does Osteopathy Work?

Osteopathy holds to the common sense principle that the patient's whole life history of illnesses and physical traumas is written into the body's structure. It is the Osteopath's highly developed sense of touch that allows the physician to palpate (feel) the patient's "living anatomy" (i.e. flow of fluids, motion of tissues, and structural make-up). In more clinical terms, an osteopathically trained physician can even detect physical problems that fail to appear on an X-ray.

The Osteopath's job is to "set" the body up to heal itself. In order to restore the normal function, the physician applies a gentle and precise amount of pressure to remove obstructions in the flow of fluids, dysfunctions in the motion of tissues and release compressed bones and joints.

What happens in treatment:

After a thorough evaluation, the patient lies down on the examination table ready for treatment. We treat the dysfunctions in the patient's body taking advantage of the body's natural tendency to continuously strive towards a state of health and homeostasis. During the treatment many patients mention a feeling of deep relaxation, tingling, flow of fluids (energy), inner balance and containment as their pain is relieved.

Some common problems treated with Osteopathy include:

How long does it take to get better:

A chronic condition often takes years to develop. With this in mind, it stands to reason that it will require time to resolve: the ratio is often one month of treatment for every year of illness. (Although every body has its own timetable of healing, this is the average course of treatment).

For a patient with an acute problem (flu, muscle strain, etc.), the course of treatment is shorter because the condition is not as deep as a chronic illness.

Much is also dependent on a patient's level of vitality (i.e. immune and neuro-endocrine systems, genetic heritage etc.). In other words, a patient in generally good health will respond more quickly to treatment than a patient with lower vitality (i.e. weakened immune system).