Osteopathy is a well known therapy for restoring movement and flexibility to stiff joints. It also helps you return from a situation of pain and discomfort. But Osteopathy is perhaps less known for its use in preventative care.
Preventative care is a primary focus of osteopathy. Having regular osteopathic treatment helps prevent imbalances and joint restrictions from developing. Just as with the servicing of your car, having maintenance osteopathic treatments (MOTs) at regular intervals can help maintain the condition of your body. It helps flush your blood, lymph and cerebrospinal fluid, keeps the nerves moving freely, moves and lubricates the joints, relaxes the muscular and nervous system, and encourages stability within the musculoskeletal framework. It promotes healthy spinal movement which, in turn, promotes good health – the nerves that exit the spine deliver signals to and from every part of the body to help it function optimally.
Our bodies are subjected to a multitude of daily stresses, strains and repetitive movements causing muscles to adapt, fatigue, and become tight and imbalanced. Examples of this are seen in the low back after sitting for long periods, cricks in the neck on waking, tightness in the shoulders after a day of lifting the kids, and knee pain after running.
These muscular adaptations can be completely painless and it’s often not until a sudden movement is made that muscular spasm, joint pain and/or restriction occurs.
The role of the osteopath is that of a human mechanic – the body is examined for these areas of stress, strain, blockage or imbalance and manual techniques are applied to make adjustments to these areas, helping the machine (body) to run smoothly again. Changes made during the sessions are reinforced with an individualized exercise program to maintain mobility and strength between treatments.
So if becoming and staying pain-free with a better level of flexibility, stability and optimal health is your goal, maintenance treatments may be just the solution.