Different Methods of Osteopathic Treatment

Osteopathy focuses on the inherent ability of the body to heal itself and there are various treatment techniques used to restore the balance of your body. This approach is used to improve your overall wellbeing and some of the methods used will be discussed in the article below.

You can read the Long Beach Osteo blog to understand how you can benefit from osteopathic treatment and how regular sessions can make a difference to your lifestyle. While the treatment tends to be individualised where the needs of the patient are taken into consideration, there are some common treatment methods that are used. One of these is soft tissue stretching which is used to elongate the muscles and manipulate them gently. The same is done for ligaments, tendons and fascia. This treatment is done in order to impel flexibility and reduce tension. There are also specific manual movements where certain areas are targeted. This can be areas where you are experiencing limited movement. By releasing the tension in these soft tissues, your flexibility can be improved. In addition to this, blood circulation to the area will improve along with delivery of nutrients.

Massaging is another method of treatment in osteopathy

And this is done to alleviate muscle tension and improve circulation in the body. This will allow you to relax which can help with stress reduction as well. The osetopath will manipulate soft tissues using different levels of pressure. The rhythmic movements they use can help bring about pain relief and help stimulate blood flow. Many people tend to have issues in joint movement and flexibility especially with age. And to treat this, an osteopath will carry out joint mobilisation. They will use controlled movements in order to stretch the joints and improve their range of motion. This is a great way to address stiff joints and it will help lubricate joints and reduce pain. Joint manipulation is called adjustments in osteopathy and here the osteopath will apply a controlled force to a specific joint. This will lead to a popping sound which is heard when gas bubbles are released from the joint fluid. And this will give a sensation of relief to the patient.

There are also dynamic forms of osteopathic treatment such as the muscle energy technique.

Here, the patient also has to participate. They are asked to contract certain muscles when the osteopath provides resistance and this will be followed by relaxation. This can help correct certain imbalances in the body. A more indirect approach used by osteopaths is the counterstrain technique. They will focus on the trigger points of the body and position the patient in such a way that the tension in the affected muscle is relieved. Gentle stretching and pressure are used to release tension in the fascia which is a connection tissue surrounding bones, muscles and organs. And this technique is called myofascial release. If you suffer from chronic pain, this is a good technique to help alleviate it. There is also cranial osteopathy where gently manipulation is used to promote relation and reduce tension so that conditions like headaches can be addressed.