Ever since I took action to enhance my career by studying osteopathy at Canadian College of Osteopathy my patients have been asking me what exactly it is I’m studying. Some of my patients have been adventurous and attempted to put a defining word to what it is which usual ends up being "osteo means bone right? or "oh osteopathy, you do treats on bones?" My answer is always "yes along with the rest of the body."

The profession of osteopathy is so vast in its entirety that it is difficult to give a brief explanation as to what exactly it is, but I am going to attempt this great feat!

Let’s start by saying that osteopathy is a science and an art. Curious statement I know, but when you see that it is a science because it requires a keen and in depth knowledge of anatomy and an art because through the use of trained hands an assessment of the entirety of the patient can be gained that statement starts to make sense. Osteopathy comes from the word "osteome" which means structures of all living matter i.e. bone, soft tissue, organs, veins, arteries, etc. and "pathos" which translates into "a profound emotion" or "an emotion which needs to be expressed". So when you put "Osteome" and "Pathos" together to form the word "Osteopathy" you have a word that implies that the whole person and how they express themselves must be taken into consideration as that person is treatment in their entirety. It is the job of the osteopathy to restore mobility to each system so the body can be balanced both in its internal and external environments.

Over the past 3 months I have been incorporation osteopathic techniques into my patient’s treatment plans with great success. I had a new patient a few weeks back that came into the clinic with a hamstring strain that normally takes 6 weeks of rehab to heal. In three treatments over a week and a half I used a few osteopathic techniques to regain balance in the lower back, hip area and balanced out the body to create homeostasis. My patient can back for their 4th treatment and had regained their normal range of motion back in their hamstring and their pain was down from 6/10 to 2/10 and I had not even touched their hamstring yet! Another patient I had not seeing in a while came in last weekend for treatment after a car accident. Their body was achy and they were visibly tired. I did an hour treatment for them. A few days later they came in and looked wonderful. Their colour was back and the dark circles under their eyes where gone along with their stooped posture.

If you have not had a change to be treated osteopathically now is the time. If you are unsure as to what an osteopath can treat just remember an osteopath is able to assess anything in the body and works with other health care professionals to ensure your greatest quality of health.