During the course of the treatments, osteopaths can call upon probably the largest selection of techniques of all manual therapies. Osteopathy is based on mechanical and biological principals and so we are not limited to any techniques. We all use a large array and diversity of techniques.
The following is not a complete list of all osteopathic techniques but should highlight the varied approach available to the trained osteopath.
•Articulation: Joints and structures being moved passively through their range of movements.
•Soft tissue techniques: Muscular and specific massage applications.
•Postural assessments: Assessing standing, seated and dynamic postures.
•Gentle manipulations: Used where it is appropriate and safe to do so, though it is not the mainstay of osteopathic treatments. Osteopathic manipulations are carried out using minimum force in order to maximise patient comfort.
•Exercises and stretching: Individual regimes are built up, not to take over your life but to help restore it.
•Strain and counter-strain: Releasing restrictions by placing the affected tissue in a position of comfort or ease, while applying a "counter" stretch to the antagonist muscle.
•Muscle energy: Muscles are helped to relax by alternating specific resistance and relaxation.
•Functional: Gentle movement of tissues in a way which relaxes barriers to normal movement.
•Cranial: (see below for more details). Osteopathy in the Cranial Field (cranial).
•Visceral: (see below for more details). Used to allow internal organs and associated structures to relax, increase their own function and the function of the musculoskeletal system that they are connected to.
The number of techniques available to treat each patient is almost limitless. The technique chosen is determined by the body itself and each treatment is unique. Andrew Taylor Still encouraged his students to use touch and precise knowledge of the body to determine treatment rather than teaching the application of general technique.
Cranial
‘Osteopathy in the Cranial Field’ or ‘cranial’ is a practice that is growing in popularity and recognition throughout the world. It is a fundamental process that affects the whole of the body. Our mechanical structures are reliant on the symmetrical, fluent and healthy functioning of this system.
The movement is most apparent in the cranial bones in the head and the sacrum (the bone at the bottom of the spine), from which it derives its name (craniosacral), but can be felt all over the body through the vast tracts of fascia (the connective tissue that holds the body together and determines the pattern in which it functions) that encompass every tissue and organ. The healthy functioning of this system provides nutrients, enhances the drainage of every area and helps with the smooth integration of function and movement throughout the body. Whenever restrictions arise it can lead to an altered, and ultimately, dis-function and dis-ease.
The use of cranial techniques in diagnosis and as part of a treatment requires an acutely accurate sense of palpation and an in-depth working knowledge of the structure and function of the whole body as one dynamic, integrated unit.
The movement of the bones of the skull was once debated. Now, with the use of high tech diagnostic and measuring equipment, it is in no debate that it exists and that it is essential to healthy functioning of the body.
Cranial techniques were first discovered and researched by William G. Sutherland at the turn of the century and were presented to the osteopathic and medical world in a number of lectures from the 1930s onwards. Sutherland was a student of A.T. Still’s the creator of the term osteopath, see History) in Midwest USA, who first noted that the skull, made up of 29 different bones knitted together, must have articulations for a reason.
He based the theory on the tenets that there is an inherent expansion and contraction of the hemispheres of the brain and that the subtle movement in the joints of the skull and sacrum allows the wave of spinal fluid within the brain and spinal cord and the movement of the membranes around them.
Cranial osteopathy is the most gentle of medical therapies and the hand makes extremely light contact with the body so as to best feel and influence the movement of the cranial mechanism. Sutherland himself said that to practise cranial osteopathy one has to "allow physiologic function within to manifest its own unerring potency rather than apply a blind force from without".
The most commonly perceived treatment is that of children, although the treatment is not limited to age or body type and can be used as a sole technique or as part of an integrated treatment. This is decided on per patient, per visit, according to what the practitioner perceives as the most suitable approach and with regards to a patient's expressed wishes.
The effects of cranial treatment are the same or similar to more physically obvious techniques used by osteopaths. The treatments can restore function and feelings to the body, improve blood supply, help breathing, and decrease the pain from muscles, joints and various tissues causing symptoms.
The brain and spinal cord are encased in three layers of membrane called the meninges, which in turn are protected by the skull and the spinal cord. This membrane attaches onto the inside of the skull, following the course of the spinal canal (attaching in few locations), finally anchoring to the sacrum, the bone at the back of the pelvis.
Any change in the shape of the skull will affect this whole mechanism and through into the rest of the body along the connections throughout the neurological system. Likewise, any alteration in the structure or function in the body will affect the cranial mechanism.
The cerebrospinal fluid is encased in the meninges and is pumped through the system at 12 to 14 beats per minute, a rhythm which can be felt, with training, throughout the body.
If there is a trauma to the bones of the skull where this movement is strongest, it will be reflected through the rest of the system causing a variety of symptoms and illnesses. Trauma throughout the body will affect the cranium in the same way that pulling at one end of a sheet will affect the other.
There are many conditions, restrictions and traumas that reflect in the cranial mechanism and that would benefit from treatment. For example, people suffering from psychiatric disorders usually have an abnormally slow cranial rhythm and benefit from treatment.
There are a huge number of conditions that respond well to cranial, and if you have any questions about whether you may benefit, please contact The Osteopathic Clinic.
Visceral
The functioning of the internal organs, or viscera, is intricately linked to the functioning of the body as a whole (in the same way all other systems are). Normal structure of the organs, their blood supply, nerve supply and drainage, is essential for healthy function, whatever that might be.
For example, the uterus needs a huge and uninterrupted supply of blood, good nervous innervation and great drainage to function well. Interruptions in the form of scar tissue or tethering to any of these will cause dysfunction and ultimately disease in the form of painful periods (dysmenorrhoea), infertility, endometriosis and many more. Physical treatment of these conditions has been proven to be effective and is a logical way of helping restore normal function.
Other abdominal complaints, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, hiatus hernias, indigestion, reflux, ulcers, asthma, chronic obstructive airways disease, pelvic congestive conditions and cardiac conditions, all benefit from having osteopathic treatment to improve blood and nerve supply and drainage.
An organ free from restriction is a healthy organ, free to function fully.
The techniques employed are non-invasive ones that work with the body, not against it, they should not be painful and should encourage the body to treat itself.
The following is not a complete list of all osteopathic techniques but should highlight the varied approach available to the trained osteopath.
•Articulation: Joints and structures being moved passively through their range of movements.
•Soft tissue techniques: Muscular and specific massage applications.
•Postural assessments: Assessing standing, seated and dynamic postures.
•Gentle manipulations: Used where it is appropriate and safe to do so, though it is not the mainstay of osteopathic treatments. Osteopathic manipulations are carried out using minimum force in order to maximise patient comfort.
•Exercises and stretching: Individual regimes are built up, not to take over your life but to help restore it.
•Strain and counter-strain: Releasing restrictions by placing the affected tissue in a position of comfort or ease, while applying a "counter" stretch to the antagonist muscle.
•Muscle energy: Muscles are helped to relax by alternating specific resistance and relaxation.
•Functional: Gentle movement of tissues in a way which relaxes barriers to normal movement.
•Cranial: (see below for more details). Osteopathy in the Cranial Field (cranial).
•Visceral: (see below for more details). Used to allow internal organs and associated structures to relax, increase their own function and the function of the musculoskeletal system that they are connected to.
The number of techniques available to treat each patient is almost limitless. The technique chosen is determined by the body itself and each treatment is unique. Andrew Taylor Still encouraged his students to use touch and precise knowledge of the body to determine treatment rather than teaching the application of general technique.
Cranial
‘Osteopathy in the Cranial Field’ or ‘cranial’ is a practice that is growing in popularity and recognition throughout the world. It is a fundamental process that affects the whole of the body. Our mechanical structures are reliant on the symmetrical, fluent and healthy functioning of this system.
The movement is most apparent in the cranial bones in the head and the sacrum (the bone at the bottom of the spine), from which it derives its name (craniosacral), but can be felt all over the body through the vast tracts of fascia (the connective tissue that holds the body together and determines the pattern in which it functions) that encompass every tissue and organ. The healthy functioning of this system provides nutrients, enhances the drainage of every area and helps with the smooth integration of function and movement throughout the body. Whenever restrictions arise it can lead to an altered, and ultimately, dis-function and dis-ease.
The use of cranial techniques in diagnosis and as part of a treatment requires an acutely accurate sense of palpation and an in-depth working knowledge of the structure and function of the whole body as one dynamic, integrated unit.
The movement of the bones of the skull was once debated. Now, with the use of high tech diagnostic and measuring equipment, it is in no debate that it exists and that it is essential to healthy functioning of the body.
Cranial techniques were first discovered and researched by William G. Sutherland at the turn of the century and were presented to the osteopathic and medical world in a number of lectures from the 1930s onwards. Sutherland was a student of A.T. Still’s the creator of the term osteopath, see History) in Midwest USA, who first noted that the skull, made up of 29 different bones knitted together, must have articulations for a reason.
He based the theory on the tenets that there is an inherent expansion and contraction of the hemispheres of the brain and that the subtle movement in the joints of the skull and sacrum allows the wave of spinal fluid within the brain and spinal cord and the movement of the membranes around them.
Cranial osteopathy is the most gentle of medical therapies and the hand makes extremely light contact with the body so as to best feel and influence the movement of the cranial mechanism. Sutherland himself said that to practise cranial osteopathy one has to "allow physiologic function within to manifest its own unerring potency rather than apply a blind force from without".
The most commonly perceived treatment is that of children, although the treatment is not limited to age or body type and can be used as a sole technique or as part of an integrated treatment. This is decided on per patient, per visit, according to what the practitioner perceives as the most suitable approach and with regards to a patient's expressed wishes.
The effects of cranial treatment are the same or similar to more physically obvious techniques used by osteopaths. The treatments can restore function and feelings to the body, improve blood supply, help breathing, and decrease the pain from muscles, joints and various tissues causing symptoms.
The brain and spinal cord are encased in three layers of membrane called the meninges, which in turn are protected by the skull and the spinal cord. This membrane attaches onto the inside of the skull, following the course of the spinal canal (attaching in few locations), finally anchoring to the sacrum, the bone at the back of the pelvis.
Any change in the shape of the skull will affect this whole mechanism and through into the rest of the body along the connections throughout the neurological system. Likewise, any alteration in the structure or function in the body will affect the cranial mechanism.
The cerebrospinal fluid is encased in the meninges and is pumped through the system at 12 to 14 beats per minute, a rhythm which can be felt, with training, throughout the body.
If there is a trauma to the bones of the skull where this movement is strongest, it will be reflected through the rest of the system causing a variety of symptoms and illnesses. Trauma throughout the body will affect the cranium in the same way that pulling at one end of a sheet will affect the other.
There are many conditions, restrictions and traumas that reflect in the cranial mechanism and that would benefit from treatment. For example, people suffering from psychiatric disorders usually have an abnormally slow cranial rhythm and benefit from treatment.
There are a huge number of conditions that respond well to cranial, and if you have any questions about whether you may benefit, please contact The Osteopathic Clinic.
Visceral
The functioning of the internal organs, or viscera, is intricately linked to the functioning of the body as a whole (in the same way all other systems are). Normal structure of the organs, their blood supply, nerve supply and drainage, is essential for healthy function, whatever that might be.
For example, the uterus needs a huge and uninterrupted supply of blood, good nervous innervation and great drainage to function well. Interruptions in the form of scar tissue or tethering to any of these will cause dysfunction and ultimately disease in the form of painful periods (dysmenorrhoea), infertility, endometriosis and many more. Physical treatment of these conditions has been proven to be effective and is a logical way of helping restore normal function.
Other abdominal complaints, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, hiatus hernias, indigestion, reflux, ulcers, asthma, chronic obstructive airways disease, pelvic congestive conditions and cardiac conditions, all benefit from having osteopathic treatment to improve blood and nerve supply and drainage.
An organ free from restriction is a healthy organ, free to function fully.
The techniques employed are non-invasive ones that work with the body, not against it, they should not be painful and should encourage the body to treat itself.
