You deserve a healthy lifestyle without pain and discomfort. Instead of seeing multiple doctors, taking drugs with more side effects, or getting invasive treatments, osteopathy can help!
Osteopathy can treat a wide range of physical discomfort by healing the root cause of your pain. It’s safe, effective, and can quickly get you back to your active lifestyle.
Keep reading to learn more about osteopathy and how it can help you live the life you deserve.
What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a holistic manual healthcare practice that treats pain related to muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, nerves, connective tissues, and organs. It’s a drug-free approach that manipulates your joints, muscles, and spine. Your osteopathic practitioner will use hands-on, manual techniques to improve circulation through gentle pressure, stretching, and resistance.
Osteopaths are an accredited profession in Canada. MSP does not cover it, but most extended healthcare plans cover osteopathic treatments.
How osteopathy helps
Osteopathic treatments have many benefits. It can treat a range of sports injuries, work-related physical stresses, fertility issues, pregnancy pains, and postpartum recovery:
Osteopathy for sports injuries
Vancouverites love the active lifestyle, but when you want to prevent injury or suffer a sports-related injury, you want to heal fast. Osteopathic practitioners help you treat the root cause of your pain, not just the symptoms. This helps you relieve pain from:
- disc injuries
- sciatica
- lower back pain
- hip pain
- knee pain
- rehab fractures
- ligament sprains
- muscle strains
- muscle/tendon tears
- tendonitis
- ankle/foot/heel pain
Osteopathy for work-related injuries
Both active and sedentary (desk) jobs can cause injury. Whether you’ve strained your back from lifting a heavy load or hours in front of a computer are giving you headaches and neck pain, Osteopathic treatments can help you heal and recover faster so you minimize any time off work. Osteopathy helps work-related injuries, including:
- headaches/migraines
- repetitive strain injuries
- lower back pain
- hip pain
- pelvic pain
- sciatic pain
- postural problems
- neck pain
- shoulder pain
- elbow/wrist pain
- rib pain
Osteopathy can help you get pregnant
In Canada, about one in six people struggle with infertility. Many of these struggles can be resolved through osteopathic treatments. It helps realign your back and pelvis and promotes healthy blood flow so your uterus gets the right neurological signals to boost fertility. When you combine osteopathic treatments and other alternative care like acupuncture, you can increase your fertility naturally.
Osteopathy throughout pregnancy and postpartum recovery
Throughout your pregnancy, you’ll experience hormonal imbalances and pains. Osteopathy can help your body function optimally to reduce pain and prepare your body for giving birth. Regular treatments throughout pregnancy and postpartum can help you feel in control of your birthing experience and recovery. You can find relief from:
- sciatica
- lower back pain
- shortness of breath
- indigestion
- rib pain
- diastasis recti
- pubic symphysis pain & misalignment
- muscle spasm/ strain
- uterus & ovary alignment
- headaches/migraines
- pelvic floor recovery
- pelvic alignment
- lower back pain
- rib pain
- wrist & elbow pain
- neck pain
Treatment types
The great thing about osteopathic treatments is they can be customized to your needs. The combination of treatment types and techniques will likely include four main techniques:
- Massage: to gently release and relax your muscles
- Stretching: to help you calm stiff joints
- Articulation: to move your joints through the full range of motion
- High-velocity thrusts: short and sharp movements of your spine to restore normal spinal movement and function
Here are a few other specific treatments your osteopath may include in your customized treatment plan:
Soft tissue massage
This is usually a softer massage to warm your muscles before deeper treatments.
Muscle Energy Technique (MET)
For musculoskeletal or nerve tendon injuries, this helps you increase your joint range of motion and is often used in conjunction with the next technique.
Joint Manipulation
This low-velocity, low-amplitude treatment uses short, frequent, and gentle force to push your joints through the full range of motion. It aims to restore full joint function throughout your body.
Balance Ligament Tension (BLT)
When you need to restore joint range of motion in your ankles, feet, knees, wrists, hands, elbows, or shoulders, this gentle technique helps balance your ligaments.
Myofascial Release & Trigger Point Therapy
In this release therapy, your therapist applies light pressure to find the stiff myofascial areas of the stiff joint and massages them out so you can get relief from muscle pain.
Other osteopathic recommendations
Your osteopath may also recommend other lifestyle modifications to help you reduce pain.
Through regular exercise, you can keep your muscles and tendons limber. Your osteopath can recommend exercises suitable for your ability and safe to do at home between sessions. These can help you speed up recovery and make in-clinic sessions more effective for long-term pain relief and healing.
What you put into your body can help speed healing and promote overall health. I can recommend how to eat healthy and reduce stress in your life. I can also recommend other practitioners to help you dive deeper into your nutritional health if needed.
Where to book your osteopathic treatments
Many people find regular treatments at a health provider challenging to book as practitioner availability is limited. When you book with Thuja, after your initial consultation, I can pre-book all your treatments for your complete recovery. This means you can get the days and times that work best for you, and they’re booked in advance.
I will tailor your treatments based on your needs. I ask that you arrive 10 mins early to your initial consultation so you can complete a health screen and intake paperwork. After this initial session, I’ll create a treatment and recovery plan, which may include referrals to other practitioners.
Book a free consultation today, and I’ll create a customized treatment plan for you.