Osteopathic Manual Therapy

Osteopathic manual therapy, or osteopathic bodywork, has so much to offer to our own health and wellness, and as a society we are just starting to appreciate its potential.

In so many areas of health, we have excelled:  We appreciate the benefits of diet and exercise. We continue to make strides in understanding cellular biochemistry. And we appreciate the importance of our mental health now more than ever before. But often omitted in wellness is our physical anatomy- the mechanical piece.

• We take our digestive tract for granted, and assume that it will forever continue to physically churn and propel our food along. But we don’t think about how it must be in physical balance to do this.
• We forget all the falls, collisions, and traumas we’ve been through in our lives– to say nothing of the effects of carrying children, prior surgeries, or what nutrition we ask our body to process.
• When it comes to migraines, mental health, or nerve pain, we tend to think of our nervous system as something abstract and theoretical. We don’t think of our brain and nerves as physical parts of us that take up space, and are susceptible to tensions and pressures.
• Even in our musculoskeletal system, we often don’t look far beyond the area that hurts or the movement that is obvious.

Osteopathic manual therapy fills this gap.

It’s about appreciating that mechanically everything is connected and related to one another in the body, from head to toe.  For example: A tight psoas hip flexor muscle could really just be tight because it’s protecting a deeper problem somewhere else, like a movement restriction of the colon in our abdomen. Or, that it could really be due to a restriction in the vertebrae in the spine- and once the spine is treated, the psoas muscle loosens on its own. Sometimes even, the root cause of that psoas being tight is as high up as the head.

But even further, the osteopathic philosophy is about appreciating how different SYSTEMS work with one another.  There could be tensions in the low back and pelvis that once released, help with constipation.  Or, perhaps that mobilizing the liver not only helps our energy, but also might stimulate better digestion, loosen the diaphragm for a deeper breath, improve allergies, or soften our mood.  There are countless more examples.  Everything is connected, and everything is important.

A Visceral Manipulation Technique for the Intestines

Finally, it’s a gentle approach that honors the body. It’s based on the practitioner following the tensions in the body to help it where it’s struggling the most. The body has so much more wisdom than the practitioner ever will– It knows best all the strains, stresses, injuries, surgeries and traumas that have been absorbed along the way- and how they’re all connected. By following the tensions and blockages in the tissues, the osteopathic practitioner can help to release where our bodies are holding on. This restores movement to our parts, and more movement means more vitality and better function. In this way, we facilitate the body’s great power to heal from within and live the fullest life.

A Visceral Manipulation Technique for the Intestines