What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is considered by many to be one of the most comprehensive types of manual healing therapy available today. Most Canadian osteopaths have undergone four to five years of training.
Osteopathy was initiated at the end of the 19th century by Andrew Taylor Still an American doctor. Dissatisfied with the poor body of knowledge available to doctors, he was one of the first of his time to make advances in understanding the anatomy of the human body via human dissections. It is therefore not surprising that osteopathy is essentially rooted in anatomy.
Osteopathy is a gentle form of manual therapy gaining tremendous interest due to its global approach in its work with the body. This is in part due to the fact that osteopaths work with so many aspects of the body: bones, joints, muscles, fasciae (conjunctive tissues), organs, nerves and blood vessels, cranial tensions, and for some osteopaths, the energetic and emotional elements.
Reasons for consultation are quite varied: for example, people may consult for muscle and joint pain, headaches, organ function (uterus, intestine, lungs, eyes, ears, sinuses, etc.) as well as for attention disorders, learning disabilities and other health issues.
Osteopathy is well adapted to all ages. Consultations extend to babies, children, adolescents, adults, seniors and pregnant women.
Throughout the treatment, techniques used are gentle and respect the limits of the body by gaging the levels of tension in the patient’s response. This approach allows for a very deep release.