YORK MED PHYSIO | Osteopathy

Osteopathy is a branch of Alternative Medicine that has a holistic approach. In Osteopathy, we believe that all human body systems are interrelated and work closely together. This means when any part of your body gets hurt, all other related structures in your body would be affected and should be treated as well—the difference between osteopathy treatment and other alternative medicines like chiropractic and physiotherapy.
Osteopathy is a non-invasive, drug-free, and hands-on treatment. The treatment has no side effects, and in many cases, the patient does not even notice the techniques, however most patients report a deep relaxation after each treatment session. Osteopathy deals with treating the whole body rather than an injured or affected area. As a manipulative medicine, Osteopathy uses different techniques like mobilization, muscle energy techniques, soft tissue release, nerve mobilization, mostly in 4 main fields:

1- Cranial Osteopathy

Contrary to popular belief, the skull joints, with their gentle, rhythmic, and continuous movement, facilitate blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow through the cranial cavity and spinal canal. Stress and anxiety, traumas to the head and neck, and spinal cord can limit this type of skull movement, leading to headaches, depression, respiratory problems, blurred vision, sleep disorders, and gastrointestinal problems (headaches after back pain relief!).

In craniosacral Osteopathy, gentle manual techniques on the cranial bones provide the basis for normal cerebrospinal fluid flow.

2- Visceral Osteopathy

Many people believe that the abdominal organs are fixed, while they are all moving in specific directions, and their movement restriction can cause many problems, such as various gastrointestinal disorders, headaches, vertebral column, and muscle pains (constipation and headache can be related!).
Prolonged immobility, thoracic and abdominal surgeries, spinal cord abnormalities, stress, and anxiety are factors that cause visceral movement restriction.
In this treatment, a skilled osteopath recognizes visceral limitations by using a gentle touch and restores their normal motility and mobility using manual techniques.

Effective treatment of spinal problems is not possible without visceral osteopathy intervention, so we suggest this treatment along with physiotherapy and chiropractic.

3- Musculoskeletal (joint and muscle) Osteopathy

The key to human body health is movement. Immobilization of the human body can impair the function of our joints and muscles. In Osteopathy, we treat different conditions of joints and muscles.

4- Temporomandibular Osteopathy:

Jaw joint osteopathy by releasing and reducing joints and reducing muscle spasms of the jaw causes jaw and oral motor balance and provides the basis for treating pain and other related symptoms.