What is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a manual medicine that uses "hands-on" techniques to diagnose and treat a range of health problems. The beauty of osteopathy is that it can be used alongside conventional medicine or other natural therapies to improve your overall health.

How can osteopathy help me?

The osteopathic philosophy is to treat your body as a whole, not just specific symptoms that may present themselves. By focusing on your muscles, tendons, joints and connective tissues, Osteopathy can improve the function of your whole body and provide relief to your musculoskeletal system and nervous system, as well as the circulatory, respiratory and immune systems of your body.

By improving the function of the whole body, osteopathic treatment helps stimulate your body's own healing process, therefore helping you return to health, naturally.

What symptoms does osteopathy treat?

Many of our clients commonly seek osteopathic treatment for headaches, back aches, neck pain and sporting injuries, but osteopathy can also help with:

 •    Arthritic complaints

 •    Spinal pain (chronic and acute pain, disc injuries, joint pain, pelvic or abdominal instability, poor posture)

 •    Referred pain (e.g. sciatic nerve pain)

 •    Sports injuries (tendonitis, tennis elbow, shin splints, muscular strains, ligament sprains)

 •    Overuse injuries (RSI, forearm upper-back pain from desk and computer work)

 •    Elderly (mobility, general physical pain and stiffness)

 •    Breathing disorders (asthma)

 •    Pregnancy related issues

 •    Menstrual pain

 •    Digestive problems (reflux and Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

Our team at Harmony Osteopathy can also offer personalised advice on stretching exercises, posture, diet, lifting techniques and stress management.

What will osteopathic treatment consist of?

Your first appointment will begin with a consultation with your treating osteopath, who will take your full case history and conduct a through physical examination. After that, the osteopath will use of a combination of safe, gentle and effective techniques completely tailored to your health needs, such as:

 •    soft tissue massage on your muscles, ligaments and tendons

 •    stretching and muscle energy techniques (METs)

 •    articulation / mobilisation of your joints

 •    counter-strain and functional techniques

 •    techniques, in the management of conditions affecting the internal organs

What changes can I expect from osteopathic treatment?

The aim of osteopathic treatment on your body is to:

 •    Increase mobility in your joints

 •    Decrease muscle and connective tissue tension

 •    Balance the systems of your body 

 •    Balance your central nervous system

If you have any further questions about how osteopathic treatment works, please contact us. Our friendly and knowledgeable osteopaths will be happy to talk to you.