Headaches & Osteopathy

Restrictions on the body are created by all kinds of physical or emotional stresses. Whether it is poor posture, how we use our bodies in the workplace, on the sporting field or after an accident. Therefore, an Osteopath will take a total body approach to treat the cause of the symptoms and not just the symptoms themselves.

An example of this is headaches or migraine that can cause problems for many Australians. There are many different causes for headaches, but a lot of them stem from tightness in the musculoskeletal system. Treatment is focused around the cervical spine and muscles in the neck. The reason for this is that the cervical spine contributes to a large percentage of headaches. If the muscles are tight or the joints are not moving well in the neck, inflammation and congestion occur giving you a headache. This is complimented with treatment of the rest of the spine and pelvis to allow pain free movement in the neck to reduce a person’s headache.

Osteopathy is a wholistic form of complimentary medicine that uses 'hands on' manual techniques to diagnose and treat a wide variety of health conditions. Osteopathy is based on the philosophy that the body functions as a complete unit. The human body is comprised of many different moving parts, whether it is between joints and muscles, the rhythmic movement of organs, the flow of blood, or the microscopic interactions between cells. When the body is free of restrictions in movement, osteopathy believes the body can cope better with pain, stress and disease and has the potential to heal itself.

All parts of the body function together in an integrated manner. If one part of the body is restricted, then the rest of the body must adapt and compensate for this, eventually leading to inflammation, pain, stiffness and other health conditions.

The role of the osteopath is to remove these patterns of restrictions so the body is aligned correctly. Osteopaths utilise a sensitive and finely tuned sense of touch to test motions and tension within the body’s framework. This is done via a variety of hands on techniques that are very gentle and non-invasive. This means that people of all ages can consult an osteopath from the newborn to the elderly. Some of the techniques used, are soft tissue and muscle stretching, massage, rhythmic passive joint movement, gentle release techniques, and joint manipulation.

Osteopaths will also give advice on exercise and stretching programs, diet, stress management, posture and lifting technique. Osteopaths will refer to other health professionals if additional care is required. Osteopathic treatment affects the physiological functioning of the whole body through treatment of the muscles, joints and other soft tissues. Treatment improves the circulation, immune and nervous system functioning along with improved digestion, breathing and energy levels.

Osteopathic treatment can help people suffering from a wide variety of health conditions, for example; lower back pain, neck pain, dysmenorrhoea (menstrual pain), sciatica, arm and leg pain, arthritis, repetitive strain injury, car and work accidents, poor posture, digestive and breathing problems.

A recent study conducted in the “New England Journal of Medicine”, showed that osteopathic manipulative treatment was effective for the management of lower back pain. A referral is not necessary to see an osteopath, but more general practitioners are referring people to osteopaths.

Reprinted with permission from the Australian Osteopathic Association