Osteopathy is a manual therapy that promotes health and healing in your body. Osteopathy centres on the principle that the structure of the body (bones, joints, muscles, and fascia) form the environment for the systems of the body (cardiovascular system, respiratory system, lymphatic system, etc.) to do what they are made to do.
Past injuries, physical conditions, postural patterns (and compensations for these things) interfere with the movement of various vital fluids. Nerves also pass through the structures of the body to communicate and coordinate our existence. For their messages to get around, we need to make sure the structures are aligned and moving well.
Manual osteopathic practitioners do not treat an injury, disease, or condition on its own. Rather, they are fostering the overall health of your body to enhance your body’s self-healing and self-regulating abilities, which will in turn help with symptoms.
During treatment, you can expect that a manual osteopathic practitioner will use their body to move your body in specific ways, assessing and releasing restrictions to restore alignment. You will be in very close contact throughout the treatment. You will be fully clothed, standing, sitting and lying down in various positions within your comfort level. Most of the time you will be trying to keep your body as relaxed as you can. They may direct you to take a deep breath or push against them in a particular way.
If you would like to know more about what osteopathy is and how it might apply to you, feel free to book a free 15-minute phone consultation.
“I feel very fortunate to be seeing Robin for osteopathy. They are gentle, knowledgeable, and thorough. After every treatment, my joints are more mobile, my limbs, back and neck more flexible, all making it easier to move without pain. Most important, I have osteoarthritis and was considering surgery on my knuckles as several fingers were completely seized up. The improvement—and movement—in my formerly frozen fingers is amazing! A couple of knuckles that haven’t moved in years, are starting to bend. And I can use all my fingers to type again. I’m very impressed. No surgery for me!”
— Barbara R.
Bones, joints, muscles, and fascia
Bones
Bones are the basic structure of our body. They are like the beams and columns of a building. The way they interact with each other will impact all of the things that are attached to them, like, muscles, joints and fascia. Bones are hard in texture but they are very much alive. They change shape as forces pull, push and rub against them.
Joints
Joints are the place where two bones meet and snuggle up beside each other. The body has incredible ways of cushioning and lubricating our bones so they don’t grate against each other. Cartilage cushions and contours the bones so they sit within each other like perfect puzzle pieces. Joints are well-oiled by synovial fluid, a naturally occurring lubricant. The flow of synovial fluid is stimulated by the motion of the joint. This means that movement itself improves motion.
Muscles
Muscles are the tissues in our bodies that create movement. They do this by bringing one bone closer to another or by letting the bones move further apart. Muscles always cross a joint, since that is where movement is possible. It is important in osteopathy to understand that muscles don’t push, they only pull and let go. A lot of osteopathic treatment will involve specific and intentional contracting of your muscles in order to help them release in conversation with your nervous system. Muscles are always adjusting to keep themselves (you) safe. The nerves monitor whether they are going to tear from being stretched too far, or if they are going to tear from contracting so hard and fast that they rip off the bone that they are attached to. If your muscle is relaxed while it is moving around, you are resetting those safety mechanisms, communicating with your body that it can safely shorten and lengthen to its full capacity. This is one of the various ways manual osteopathic practitioners work with muscle restrictions.
Fascia
Fascia is a vast and vital aspect of our body’s structure. It does so many things that it can be hard to wrap your head around. No pun intended! Because that is a large part of the fascia’s job. It wraps around body parts, keeping them separate from each other. Each bone is wrapped with a layer of fascia, and each muscle is wrapped with a layer of fascia. This separates them from each other so that they can make their distinct movements and not get stuck to each other. Each organ is also wrapped with fascia to protect and contain it.
People often call fascia connective tissue because another one of its jobs is to connect body parts to each other. A ligament is made of fascia, connecting bones to one another. A tendon is made of fascia, connecting muscles to bones.
An incredible feature of fascia is that it is one continuous structure. For example, every muscle fibre (aka muscle cell) is wrapped in a sheath of fascia, then all of these sheathes meet at the end of the muscle to create a tendon. This tendon wraps around a bone and has now become the fascia of the bone, which is called the periosteum. This is how when we work with a tendon, we are also working deep into the belly of the muscle as well as addressing the health of the bone. Manual osteopathic practitioners work intimately with fascia because they can interact with fascia close to the surface and reach layers deep inside the body.
What to expect during an osteopathy appointment
Now that you know more about osteopathy, and the role of bones, joints, muscles, and fascia in your body, it may be helpful to understand what to expect during an osteopathy appointment with a manual osteopathic practitioner like Robin.
You can also read more about Robin and how they approach osteopathy.
Robin Magder Osteopathy 