Osteopathic Medicine

Osteopathy is a natural hands-on medicine that views the individual as a whole unit. With the belief that the ability to recover from illness is inherent within our own bodies, osteopathy assesses and treats movement restrictions in your body tissues that prevent you from feeling healthy and fit. It is unique because osteopathy focuses on the cause of pain and dysfunction rather than concentrating only on the symptoms.

Treatment may include:

Osteoarticular Corrections – Realignment of the bones through gentle movement.

Visceral Manipulation – Restoring normal function and alignment of the organs of the body through gentle mobiizations.

Cranial Osteopathy – Restoring proper alignment of the bones of the skull through gentle mobilizations.

Myofascial Corrections – Reducing tension in the muscles and surrounding tissues thereby returning structures to normalcy.

Muscle energy – Encouragement of muscle relaxation through muscle contraction and movement.

Strain counterstrain – A method of relaxing and re-positioning joints through movement and contraction/relaxations practices.

The Osteopathic Manual Practitioner

Osteopathic Manual Practitioners (DOMP) have extensive education and clinical training in traditional (manual) osteopathic practice. They assess and treat patients using manual techniques. They are not physicians so they cannot prescribe medication or perform surgery. The term ‘osteopath’ is restricted, in Ontario, to members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Often the osteopathic manual practitioner holds a previous degree in health care prior to study osteopathy.

To practice in Ontario, they have to be an active member of the Ontario Association of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners (OAO).  At the Canadian College of Osteopathy in Toronto, the osteopathic manual practitioner is required to finish five years of study which includes a thesis study to be defended to a panel of officiants.

Benefits of Osteopathy

• Removes the underlying cause of pain
  • reduces pain and stiffness in muscles and joints
  • increases range of motion in the joints
  • treats spinal problems resulting from poor posture or spinal disc injuries
• Relieves chronic pain through non-invasive treatment
  • decreases stress on the joints
  • reduces tension in the body
  • relieves tension headaches and migraine headaches
• Helps the body adapt to hormonal and structural changes during pregnancy
• Reduces scars and adhesions
• Treats trauma resulting from accidents
  • sports injuries
  • motor vehicle injuries
• Encourages the body to heal itself
  • increases circulation
  • reduces blood pressure

Osteopath Manual Practitioners (DOMP) work with a wide variety of patients in the treatment of illness, injury, rehabilitation and disability and can be beneficial to manage symptoms of many conditions.

Your DOMP will require an overall picture of your current health and a detailed health history in order to design a treatment plan that’s right for you. If a DOMP determines that your condition would be better treated by another healthcare professional, they will make the appropriate referral.