Osteopathy is a form of manual medicine that recognizes the importance between function and structure of the body. Osteopaths aim to assist the healing of the body by focusing on how the muscles, joints, nerves, circulation, and connective tissue function together as a unit.
Through comprehensive evidence-based evaluation, diagnosis, and a wide range of treatment techniques, osteopaths can identify important types of dysfunction in your body. An Osteopath typically uses treatment techniques such as stretching, soft tissue work (massage of muscles, tendons, and ligaments) alongside mobilization, manipulation of specific joints and soft tissues using direct or indirect techniques.
Have a look at What we treat, to get a better understanding of what we cover. Remember if you are unsure then please make contact with your Osteopath to see if your complaint can be treated by them.
Aside from the manual treatment to get your body ‘Inline’, Osteopathy is all about the body as a unit. This means Osteopaths dive into what makes you ‘you’.
- What you do for a living
- What you do for sport or exercise
- How you sleep and the Quality around sleep
- What job you do and how your body is positioned during
- What hobbies you are interested in
- What supplements you are currently taking
- Do you stretch or do anything else to relieve tension
Often is the little things that all add up to the big picture and can be the cause to why your not getting the best results with just manual treatment. As Osteopaths we try to include all of this, and therefore we aim to get you feeling better for longer, and looks to have more sustainable longevity.
All Osteopaths have a very similar philosophy and principles but can treat very differently from one another. Not only the style, but some osteopaths do more study and are able to provide care to different groups of people but also offer different modalities. For example Peadratic, Pregnancy treatment, sports injury treatment, women’s health, dry needling, cupping, to name a few.
How to get the best out of your Osteopath?
Have a look at ‘Why Manual Treatment May not Work’ (blog), which explains a few aspects of treatment that people don’t think of initially. And will help you get the best out of treatment.
All Osteopaths in New Zealand have to be registered with the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand (OCNZ). This governing body regulates Osteopaths in NZ and also looks out for patient safety and are always looking at better ways we can help our community.
Osteopaths in New Zealand are ACC registered practitioners. This means they can assess and claim an injury under ACC and provide you with an ACC code for your injury. This also means that Osteopaths can use ACC to help subsidise your treatment if you do have an injury. Best to talk with your Osteopath about what comes under an ‘accident’ and what doesn’t.
