What is Osteopathy?

I find it funny that I can confidently answer this question now, considering a couple years ago I had no idea what the answer was. A man named Andrew T. Still founded osteopathy. Although there is a long history behind how this practice came to be, in Canada, osteopathy is a type of manual therapy practiced by osteopathic manual practitioners, also referred to as manual osteopaths. Manual osteopaths take a gentle approach to treatment and do not utilize grade 5 manipulations like you would experience in chiropractic treatment. Manual osteopaths can treat many conditions including chronic pain by using multiple techniques:  joint mobilization, which increases joint mobility and flexibility, muscle energy techniques, which increase range of motion, soft tissue therapy, working on fascia and connective tissue, visceral manipulation by softly palpating organs in the body as well and cranio-sacral therapy, focusing on the dura matter and how it can greatly affect the rest of the body. Osteopathy is a holistic approach to manual therapy and looks to treat the cause of the problem rather than the symptoms. One principal of osteopathy is that structure governs function. This is completely true; as soon as structure in the body changes and there is a malalignment, the function of the body follows ultimately causing pain. The goal of a manual osteopath is to find ones neutral. No person is the same, but our bodies are built to self heal and self regulate; the job of a manual osteopath is to be a catalyst in that natural process.

Why did I choose Osteopathy?

There are many reasons why I chose to become a manual osteopath. When I finished high school I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to go away to school. I ended up going into a general biology degree at Wilfrid Laurier University. Although I never regretted my time at Laurier, even after 4 years there I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to work in the health care field and I ultimately wanted to help people. I thought if I can come home from a day’s work having helped at least one person I would have a satisfying career. I came across Osteopathy in my fourth year of university and started looking into it, this was the first I had ever heard of it. Through lots of research it dawned on me that this was everything I wanted in a career. After looking into a few schools in Ontario I chose the National Academy of Osteopathy (NAO) for my post grad education. NAO has been a great place to learn and I am lucky to be a part of a community that I know will continue to support each other in our careers long after graduation. I look forward to a lifetime of learning, as we will never know all there is to know about the human body.