Osteopathic Techniques for Your Specific Needs

Osteopathy is a non-invasive manual therapy without the use of drugs. It helps improve health all over the body systems by strengthening the musculoskeletal framework through manipulation.

An osteopathic doctor will focus on the spine, joints, and muscles. The objective of osteopathic techniques is to work on the nervous, lymphatic, and circulatory systems of the body.

Chirotherapy mainly makes use of the hands to treat and perform diagnosis and treatment to the patients. Osteopathy is considered a complementary therapy that is used together with conventional treatment. But, osteopaths are also qualified and certified doctors. They also completed more training compared to other complementary therapists, for example, the naturopaths.

·         Articulation Techniques. The osteopathic doctor uses a Passive mobilization of the joint or spine to boost joint movement.

·         Counterstrain. Sometimes, the muscles tighten up and stretch like an elastic band. Counterstain helps reset the muscles to its normal length and resting tone. This technique is mild way we release joints and muscles.

·         Dry Needling. It is one of the osteopathic techniques that use a fine filament needle in treatment. The needle produces an instant release response when it is placed into a tight muscle band or trigger point in a particular area. Dry needling is ideal to patients with chronic muscular ailments such as tennis elbow and Achilles tendonitis. is also effective for other sporting injuries such as hip pain, sciatica, groin pain, headaches, and lower back pain.

·         Cranial-Sacral Osteopathy. This is a type of gentle therapy that helps in strengthening and balancing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds the spinal cord and the brain. During this treatment, the osteopath uses a soft touch to make your tissues relax. The effects are also quite subtle, which is a sense of deep relaxation and relief from pain.

·         Soft Tissue Techniques. This is a form of massage that uses either firm or mild pressure to help stretch tight fascial structures and relax the hypertonic (tight) muscles.

·         Muscle Energy Techniques. MET belongs to the category of manual therapy. This utilizes muscle contractions of the patient to lengthen tight muscles and relax them, thus increasing joint range of motion.

·         High Velocity, Low Amplitude. HVLA is a reliable technique when you want to increase joint motion. It is the technique that is also called as “cracked” as it creates a click or pop sound. Osteopaths have completed extensive training to be familiar with this technique. But, many of them opt not to use this method, as there are some risks involved. The practitioner will not perform it unless the patient is comfortable with it.

Conclusion

On the whole, osteopathic techniques are not painful. If the patient is already feeling the pain, the doctor will avoid using techniques that will worsen that pain. A different alternative technique may be used. Due to the range of techniques, it is important for the osteopath to ask questions first. No two patients at the clinic will have the same medical history and condition. Therefore, they may not receive the same results after using the same treatments. Therefore, consultation is beneficial for the patient.