WHAT IS OSTEOPATHY?
THE OSTEOPATHIC PRINCIPLES
1.
The human being forms a dynamic functional unit, whom's well-being is influenced by body, mind and soul.
2.
The organism has self-regulating mechanisms and the natural ability to heal itself.
OSTEOPATHY - A MANUAL THERAPY
One of the most famous quotes in osteopathy says: With thinking, seeing, knowing fingers. This is an attempt to describe how an osteopath's hands touch and discover the body's tissues.
The most important tool of an osteopath are the hands and the ability to touch, to consciously touch, to sense judgment and to listen.
WHAT CAN BE TREATED WITH OSTEOPATHY?
Our osteopathic practice in Berlin-Pankow welcomes up to 50 patients a week with a wide variety of symptoms. Nevertheless, certain symptoms occur more frequently than others.
Most common symptoms presented in our osteopathic office are:
Back pain
Joint blockage
Neck pain
Shoulder pain
Migraines, headaches
Digestive problems
Tinnitus
Jaw problems (CMD)
Sports injury, accident
THREE PILLARS
Osteopathy is an independent, holistic form of medicine in which diagnostics and treatment are carried out manually. It can be divided into three areas:
PARIETAL OSTEOPATHY
In parietal osteopathy, the joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles and fascia are examined and treated for movement restrictions.
CRANIO-SACRAL OSTEOPATHY
Cranio-sacral osteopathy examines and treats the fine movements of the skull bones, the sacrum, the associated fluids and connective tissues.
VISCERAL OSTEOPATHY
Visceral osteopathy examines and treats the internal organs and their surrounding structures for movement restrictions.
"LIFE IS MOTION."
— Quote: Andrew Taylor Still, founder of osteopathy —
RELEASING BLOCKAGES WITH OSTEOPATHY
Our body is always on the move, even when we are resting. This affects, for example, structures of the blood circulation (the heart and the vessels) or the digestive system (gastric and intestinal activity). But there is also constant movement at the cellular level, in the various tissues of the body: the exchange of liquids by means of osmosis, the activity of glands or the transport of nutrients and messenger molecules. The best possible mobility is vital for our body. The aim of our treatment is to release blockages and tissue tension using manual techniques and therapeutic exercises and thus to restore mobility.
TREATING VERTEBRAL BLOCKAGES
Since osteopathy and chiropractic historically have partly the same roots, some techniques are used in both treatment methods. This also applies to the "setting in" z. B. with vertebral or joint blockages.
The technique of adjusting is called HVLA in osteopathy (in chiropractic adjustment). It requires a lot of skill, knowledge and sensitivity to find exactly the right dose of force and amplitude for the executed impulse.
Before using a technique, every trained therapist will always check whether this is the correct and most effective treatment technique for the individual patient for his or her illness and previous history.
Done correctly, HVLA techniques can provide relief from blockages in the spine and all peripheral joints and are therefore very popular with patients.
Nevertheless, one should not succumb to the lure of a "quick fix", because in addition to the blockage, the cause of the blockage must also be found and treated if one wants to avoid the joint blocking again after a few days!
OSTEOPATHY AND THE CENTRAL ROLE OF THE SPINE
At the beginning of every osteopathic treatment, a look at the spine is taken. The osteopath checks the mobility of their individual segments using osteopathic mobility tests and feels the texture of the local skin and muscles. Why is the spine so central in osteopathy?
Our spine is an important, supporting element of our holding, supporting and musculoskeletal system. It is made up of 33 individual vertebral bones, which are stacked on top of one another like a tower of building blocks. A nerve (also called a spinal nerve) arises to the right and left of each "block".
Put very simply, spinal nerves have a thick main branch that leads to a specific internal organ and three other secondary branches: one of these smaller branches leads directly to the back muscles in the immediate vicinity of the vertebra, another to the periosteum (i.e. the periosteum) of the vertebra and the third to the spinal canal itself (to the membranes of the spinal cord).
If you have a problem with an organ for a long time (e.g. a stomach that cramps chronically) the main branch of the affected spinal nerves will fire more signals. It has been found that this increased nerve activity can spread to the secondary branches, so that over time you will find tense muscles, asymmetrical mobility (up to blockages) and periosteal tenderness in the affected area of the spine. Due to the local tension, it is also often possible to feel a selectively changed texture of the skin (e.g. puffy, greasy or cold sweat).
All of these are indications, which the osteopath makes use of in the osteopathic assessment and treatment.
“True calmness is not lack of movement. It is the balance of movement. "
THE BODY FUNCTIONS AS A UNIT
The body represents a functional unit. As a result, the origin of complaints can often be found far from the place of their symptoms. Osteopathy is not limited to the treatment of symptoms, but looks at the person as a whole and explores the causes of complaints. In doing so, Osteopathy pursues a salutogenic approach: that is, the focus of attention is not primarily on the patient's complaints or illnesses, but on their individual health. It is important to promote and maintain the self-healing powers.
If you would like to learn more about osteopathy and its areas of application, you can find detailed information at: www.atsu.edu/museum-of-osteopathic-medicine
OSTEOPATHY, MINDFULNESS AND YOGA
One of the basic principles in osteopathy states that the human being forms a dynamic, functional unit whose well-being is influenced by body, mind and spirit. Osteopathy also assumes that the organism has self-regulating mechanisms and the natural ability to heal itself. But what forces can arise from centering? Can we initiate our healing process by sensing the connections between body and mind?
The empirical experience from practice shows: with the alignment of our mind we can have a direct effect on our body tissue! Emotions can be measured in the blood, the type of thoughts change our blood pressure. In meditative states the heartbeat slows down, the basic tension of our skeletal muscles decreases and the function of the immune system improves! All of these are properties that osteopathy makes use of.
OSTEAOPTHY & YOGA: BE YOUR OWN OSTEOPATH!
The best possible mobility is vital for our body. In osteopathy, it is essentially about maintaining this mobility or restoring it if it is lost.
Treatment or the prevention of complaints (e.g. pain in muscles and joints) is most effective if the body is moved regularly after the osteopathic treatment, which is what it was designed for. We therefore recommend yoga frequently and out of personal conviction when patients ask us for tips or exercises after the treatment! Because:
Yoga promotes functional movement.
Like almost no other training method, yoga involves muscles, nerves, organs, breathing and mindfulness in the practice, so it is very holistic.
Yoga supports the parasympathetic nervous system and thus the immune system, the body's natural ability to heal itself.
OSTEOPATHY FOR BABIES AND INFANTS
A few thoughts on pediatric osteopathy and the osteopathic treatment of babies. Why do so many parents go to the osteopath with their child? In our osteopathic practice, we regularly receive infants for osteopathic treatment. Experience shows that babies usually enjoy osteopathy very much, relax, become calm or even fall asleep. Why is that?
Let us consider the development of the human body, especially its senses: feeling, tasting, smelling, touching and seeing. Which sense develops first? What do newborn babies perceive the most? How can we best communicate with them? Find out what, if any, are missing?
At the time of birth, all human senses are fully functional, but in some cases are still very underdeveloped. For example, a newborn's eyesight is extremely limited in the first few days of life. Objects or people can only be seen blurred.
The initial development and differentiated formation of the senses already takes place in the womb and, depending on the sense, in very different stages of development:
The sense of smell and taste, for example, only develop towards the end of pregnancy!
Hearing at least around the 24th week of pregnancy and seeing already at the end of the 4th month of pregnancy (i.e. in the 16th week of pregnancy). However, the first developing sense is feeling. This already develops from the 5th week of pregnancy! That is, at a time when many parents do not yet know anything about the pregnancy.
Even after birth, the sense of touch is initially the most pronounced and most important sense for a newborn child. That means with a very young baby, you can hardly communicate by means of eye contact, facial expressions or sounds. Children feel themselves and others best when they are held, touched or gently rocked. Babies also perceive hums well, as the vibrations of the voice are transmitted to the baby.
Osteopaths perform their treatment, examination and diagnosis with their hands, i.e. touching, sensing fine tissue tension and blockages, is the most important tool of an osteopath and at the same time addresses the most important sense of the child: the sense of touch. In a way, in the osteopathic treatment we enter into a dialogue with the infants, feel what is pleasant for the child and what creates stress, with the aim of providing relief for the child.
OSTEOPATHIC TREATMENT FOR BABIES
OUR TREATMENT OFFER
Parents come to the Osteoptahie practice with their child for a variety of reasons, but the following symptoms are the most common: