Osteopathy is a non-invasive modality of holistic manual medicine, which recognises the importance of the musculoskeletal system. An osteopath is trained and accredited to both identify and treat a wide range of issues and ailments by focusing on how our skeleton, joints, muscles, nerves, circulation, connective tissue and internal organs function as a whole.
Osteopaths are primary health care practitioners and are one of a group of ten government registered allied health professionals which include chiropractors and physiotherapists.
In the course of a treatment, Osteopaths will choose a combination of the following techniques to promote recovery.
The most common complaints for which people consult Osteopaths are musculoskeletal conditions such as:
- Back and neck pain
- Arthritis
- RSI
- Joint pain
- Sporting or work injuries
- Migraine
- Jaw pain
- Nerve pain
However a broad variety of other conditions such as the following may also respond to osteopathic treatment:
- Digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome
- Circulatory problems
- Gynaecological conditions
- Neurological problems, such as neuralgia, co-ordination and balance issues, and referred pain
- Asthma, and other respiratory conditions
Osteopathy can also play a significant role in pain management or when used in conjunction with medical treatment.
To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease.
– A.T. Still MD, DO Philosophy of Osteopathy
OUR PRACTITIONERS
Osteopathic Standards
In Australia, Osteopaths are required to have completed over five years of tertiary education and passed board examinations set by the Australian Osteopathic Association to become a government registered allied health professional. The Australian Osteopathic Association liaises with federal government and all other statutory bodies regarding professional, educational, legislative and regulatory issues.
Curriculum for Osteopathic education includes but not limited to osteopathic philosophy and technique,manual manipulation techniques, anatomy and physiology, pathology, radiology, neuroscience as well as orthodox medical diagnosis in order to refer to other health professionals as needed.
To ensure practitioners are uploading the highest standards of medicine, Osteopaths have a minimum requirement of ongoing professional development and are required to adhere to a standard of professional and ethical behaviour as a part of their membership to the Australian Osteopathic Association.
Brief History of Osteopathy
Founded in 1870 by Andrew Taylor Still, a 19th-century American physician and surgeon. After losing his wife and three daughters to spinal meningitis and disillusioned that the current orthodox medical system could not save them, Still is believed to have began shape his reformist attitudes towards conventional medicine and started practicing manipulative procedures that were intended to restore harmony in the body.
Over the course of the next twenty five years, Still attracted support for his medical philosophy that disapproved of orthodox medicine, and shaped his philosophy for osteopathy. Core to his philosophy was the idea that structure and function are interrelated and the importance of each piece of the body in the harmonious function of its whole.
