Osteopathy/Massage Therapy

Founded in 1874 by Dr. Andrew Still, M.D., Osteopathy is a natural medicine based on a key paradigm shift: remove the underlying causes of pain and illness, rather than manage symptoms. This allows the body’s inherent self-healing ability to resume. Symptoms, whether involving pain, restricted movement, digestive distress, fatigue, headaches, stress, etc., often represent the “end of the story”, and can be far removed from the causal factors. There may be several factors contributing to the experienced distress. 

The Osteopathic practitioner examines the complex interconnectedness of the whole body’s many systems, as a single unit. A highly trained sense of touch, biomechanical analysis, and other tests are used to identify and correct structural imbalance and other restrictions within the body. When all the body's components are in balance, the body’s self-healing ability is restored, and continues to function without requiring further intervention. 

Osteopaths use many types of soft tissue and joint manipulation. Critical consideration is given to help the body's fluids (such as blood and lymphatic fluid) and neural signals flow smoothly. This reduces harmful fluid retention with accompanying waste buildup in the tissues and makes the body's immune system more effective, thus enhancing health. 

Osteopathic treatment techniques include:

1.      Myofascial, Connective Tissue & Neuromuscular Therapies - returns muscles and fascia to their original length, thus removing strain from joints and organs;

2.      Cranial Osteopathy - attends to the underlying biorhythm and motion of the dural membranes and fluid which surround and invest the brain and spinal cord, and which influence cellular exchange throughout the whole body;

3.      Visceral Mobilization - relieves stressful forces acting on internal organs or their suspensory ligaments, which improves mobility & blood flow, and helps the organ function more effectively;

4.      Osteoarticular corrections - gentle realignment of bony joints to encourage efficient weight bearing and movement, and normalize associated function;

5.      Muscle Energy Technique - relaxes tight muscles and reeducates the nervous system, which both controls muscle activity and greatly influences circulation. 

Who can benefit from Osteopathy?

·        people of all ages suffering with digestive disorders, or chronic illness

·        anyone with repetitive strain injuries, or post-accident

·        newborns, infants, toddlers; children of all ages 

On the Web: 

www.osteopathie-canada.ca        

www.osteopathyontario.com

Osteopathy: Strenghen Vitality, rather than manage disease symptoms 

Neuromuscular Therapy

For the treatment of chronic pain

Neuromuscular Therapy interrupts pain in muscle and re-educates the nervous system so that chronic pain will be less likely to reoccur.

Neuromuscular Therapy is based on the physiological understanding that pain in muscles and other soft tissues is usually accompanied by circulatory constriction and excessive neurological activity. Injury to a muscle may involve the trauma of torn muscle fibers, the self-protective bracing of muscle resulting from an impact injury (car accident, severe fall, etc.) or the "knotting" of repetitious overuse. In any case, the defensive reaction of the nervous system is to curtail the blood supply to the injured area in order to contain internal hemorrhaging and inflammation. Limited blood supply weakens muscle tissue due to inadequate supplies of nutrition and oxygen. In addition, waste products accumulate, irritating nerve endings and generating further pain. The result is muscle fatigue, which further reduces function and endurance. Nervous system involvement increases, and localized pain spreads and becomes what is known as "referred pain," often felt in areas far from the causal site of the dysfunction.

Neuromuscular Therapy interrupts this cycle of pain and constriction, introducing a healing environment for the injured, chronically spastic, or overused tissue. Beginning with a detailed analysis of the musculoskeletal system, the therapy involves searching and treating individual muscles. This treatment employs techniques which reduce or alter neurological activity in the area, thus interrupting microspasm and encouraging the return of normal blood supply. Waste products (lactic acid, etc.) accumulated in the injured muscle tissue are flushed away by the return of normal blood flow. This results in a diminishing of “referred pain” to other bodily areas.

Also known as "trigger point therapy", or myofascial therapy, this type of somatic intervention was developed as a direct result of the medical research and clinical applications of Dr. Janet Travell, White House physician to the Kennedy and Johnson administrations in the U.S.

Many common disorders have been known to respond favorably to Neuromuscular Therapy, such as chronic muscle or joint pain, repetitive motion injuries, headache, sciatica, whiplash, orthopedic compression injuries, tennis elbow, TMJ dysfunction, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, dysmenorrhea, bursitis, fibromyalgia, sinusitis, and many types of arthritis.