What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of mechanical problems of the spine and joints. It recognises the importance of the link between the structure of the human body and the way it functions.
The most commonly treated conditions are back and neck pain – but the scope is far wider. Osteopaths focus on the body’s skeleton and joint function along with the underlying muscles, soft tissue and internal organs.
How Does Osteopathy Work?
Osteopaths consider each person as an individual. Using a highly developed sense of touch, they identify problem areas of the body and work hands-on both to investigate and treat the underlying causes of pain.
A combination of gentle stretching, massage and joint mobilising techniques are used to create the perfect conditions to facilitate the healing process, to increase the mobility of joints, relieve muscle tension and to enhance the blood and nerve supply to tissues. The particular range of techniques your osteopath uses will depend on your problem.
Typical problems that osteopathy can help with include:
- back and neck pain
- headaches
- spinal problems
- arthritic conditions
- joint problems
- sports injuries
- repetitive strain injuries
Cranial Osteopathy
In addition, we have a specialism in cranial osteopathy. This is a gentle method of releasing deeply held, chronic tensions throughout the body, which can be the result of a car accident, falls, stress, bad posture, or a long term illness.
Cranial osteopaths treat the whole body, not just the head. They are osteopaths who work at the more gentle, subtle end of the spectrum of treatment approaches.
Who we treat:
- elderly
- adults
- children
- teenagers
- babies – of particular benefit, improving general contentment
What Does Cranial Treatment Feel Like?
Patients may feel sensations of warmth or pressure, either under the osteopath’s hands or elsewhere. Most patients feel that gradually the tension is being drawn out of the body and they become deeply relaxed.
Benefits of Treatment
Osteopathic treatment is aimed not only at the relief of symptoms, but towards helping the body function better in all respects. Patients often report an improvement in general well-being, energy levels, sleep patterns and also in areas other than those that brought them to the osteopath in the first place.