Your hormonal health is crucial to your overall well-being. It affects everything from your blood sugar levels, growth, metabolism, ability to self-heal, to your daily well-being and more.
Unbalanced hormones have both physical and emotional repercussions if left uncorrected. Hormonal imbalances can leave you feeling tired or unwell, create mood swings, irregular cycles, and cause sleep issues, to name a few.
Thankfully, hormonal balance can be achieved and maintained through gentle, non-invasive osteopathic techniques and care. It’s a holistic approach to healing and the health of your self-regulating bodily systems.
Continue reading to discover the role of osteopathy in maintaining hormonal balance.
Understanding the body’s hormonal system
Hormones are like your body’s messengers. They help send communication signals between your body’s systems, including the endocrine, nervous, and circulatory systems. Too many or too few of these hormones break down the lines of communication, signalling what we call a hormonal imbalance.
Depending on what hormones are lacking or in excess, you may notice these common symptoms of a hormonal imbalance:
- Weight changes
- Extreme tiredness or trouble sleeping
- Mood swings
- Changes in your monthly cycles, sexual desire and function
- Changes in your skin or hair
- Digestive distress
There are a variety of reasons for these imbalances.
- In women, these are commonly related to pregnancy, polycystic ovary syndrome, or menopause, although other sources.
- In men, an imbalance may be triggered by injury to the testicles or the presence of undescended testicles.
- In both sexes, causes may relate to age, thyroid disorders, lifestyle factors (like stress or obesity), other illnesses or disease, or poor diet (to name a few).
Your healthcare professional can help you identify and diagnose a hormonal imbalance, so if you have one or more of these symptoms with no other explainable cause, seek healthcare advice.
How osteopathy influences your hormones
As you know, osteopathy employs a whole-body approach to health and healing. Many osteopathic techniques can be used to rebalance your physical body (musculoskeletal system as well as your hormones). These techniques can help you balance your hormones, achieve better overall health, and find relief from illness, injury, or other symptoms.
Sometimes, patients consult their osteopath when they experience common hormonal imbalance symptoms (such as the ones above), or have a diagnosed hormonal condition or illness, including:
- Stress and adrenal fatigue
- PMS and menstrual cycle irregularities (PCOS, endometriosis)
- Unexplained infertility
- Postpartum hormone recovery
- Perimenopause and menopause symptoms (hot flashes, insomnia, mood changes)
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Trouble sleeping due to too many or too few melatonin or cortisol hormones
- Osteoporosis
If you’re experiencing symptoms and think a hormonal imbalance may be the trigger, talk to your osteopath. A primary care doctor may do a blood test to diagnose hormone imbalances. An osteopath will assess your musculoskeletal system to look for any imbalance.
Osteopathic techniques that support hormonal health
Your osteopath will develop a personalized treatment and care plan tailored to your unique needs. Common osteopathic techniques that may be used to support your holistic hormonal health include:
- Cranial osteopathy: This technique supports physical tensions that affect the nervous and endocrine systems.
- Visceral manipulation: This technique helps improve the function of organs that support hormone production and regulation, namely your liver, adrenal glands, and reproductive organs.
- Myofascial release and gentle spinal adjustments: Myofascial release helps reduce stress by improving overall body function. Gentle spinal adjustments help align your musculoskeletal system, improving circulation and communication between your body’s systems.
- Breathing and diaphragm work: Focusing on your breathing can bring feelings of calm, reduce your stress, and promote relaxation.
If you have questions about your care plan or techniques used, ask your osteopath. They’ll be more than happy to explain why they recommend each treatment and how it supports your hormonal and overall health.
Supporting long-term hormonal health naturally
You may want additional ways for long-term management of your hormones. In addition to your osteopathic appointments, you can integrate various lifestyle strategies to support your hormonal health.
The first thing you should do at home to maintain hormonal balance is to pay attention to your nutrition. Good, balanced nutrition helps you manage blood sugar levels and inflammation. Eat whole foods, healthy fats, and lean proteins. As much as possible, avoid overly processed foods, refined sugar, excess caffeine, and alcohol. Hydration is also crucial for overall health, as it directly supports a healthy endocrine system and helps regulate cortisol levels.
Movement and exercise are never a bad thing for your health (unless you’re healing from injury or have other contraindications). Staying active keeps your body strong and healthy, allowing its systems to perform their essential functions more easily.
Sleep can also support your hormonal health. Lack of sleep affects your body’s ability to produce and regulate hormones, impacting your appetite, metabolism, and stress response, among others.
Your osteopath may also recommend working collaboratively with multiple healthcare practitioners, including naturopaths, primary care providers, massage therapists, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners, or acupuncturists. Each one has a unique approach to your hormonal imbalance, and a combination of practitioners may better support your needs.
When to see an Osteopath about hormone imbalances
Hormones play a crucial role in maintaining your physical and mental health. Maintaining balance supports your overall holistic health and wellness, allowing you to have the energy and function necessary to live your best life without pain or discomfort.
If you suspect a hormonal imbalance, talk to your osteopath. We take a gentle, hands-on approach to identify and treat hormonal imbalances. In addition to osteopathic techniques, we can also recommend other at-home lifestyle changes to support and maintain your hormones in the long term.
I’m currently accepting new patients at Thuja Wellness who would like help managing or balancing their hormones. You can view my clinic availability and book your next appointment online. View all available appointments and book directly at a time that suits you best.
I look forward to working collaboratively with you to achieve your optimal hormonal health.
