What is osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a particular form of therapy for optimising the various structures of the body and eliminating or decreasing existing imbalances. These imbalances might be due to current illnesses, injuries and scars, signs of ageing or stresses caused by work and sport. Such "disorders" often manifest themselves in blockage as well as joint and muscle problems and often lead to pain and reduced performance. In osteopathy, techniques requiring physical touch are used to optimise and harmonise the body's system gently and lastingly removing blockages and other disturbances. This treatment improves the body's vitality and stimulates and supports the body's self-healing powers.

The strengths of osteopathy are on the one hand as a preventive therapy. A balanced system is less susceptible to interference. On the other hand, osteopathy can also be very effective in the treatment of illnesses and for the postoperative treatment of injuries or operations.

A holistic approach:

The human body is a complex organism. All its parts, such as internal organs, joints, fascia and muscles, are connected with each other and interrelated. When symptoms occur anywhere on the body, the causes may be obvious and unambiguous. Often, however, a problem in one part of the body originates in more distant action mechanisms. Very likely different and interacting influencing factors play a role.

With the aim of being holistic, osteopathy tries to identify and eliminate as many disruptive factors as possible.

Re-harmonisation is achieved by integrating the affected body parts back into the overall system of the body as they become fully functional again.

A well-functioning body has both vitality and the ability to heal itself. However, it is crucial to remember that every person and every human body is unique. At the same time, each person's body is a reflection of its physical experiences and life style. Treatment, therefore, requires the development of specially adapted strategies and solutions.

Osteopathy and back problems:

The spine is one of the most critical points in the entire body. Back pain and back problems always affect the rest of the body. On the other hand, diseases not stemming from the back can often be seen on the spine.

Effective back therapy must, therefore, integrate as many influencing factors as possible. The holistic approach of osteopathy is beneficial here. For example, disturbances in the cervical spine and jaw area are often responsible for headaches, and it is not uncommon to find the cause of headaches even in more distant regions, such as dysfunctions in the sacrum or lumbar spine.

In existing severe spinal diseases, osteopathy can be an essential building block in preventing or at least delaying any operation. In cases of trauma caused by whiplash and other traumatic injuries of the neck or back, osteopathy is an extremely effective form of therapy to support the healing and treatment of pain as well as to minimise long-term issues and possible consequential damages.

Osteopathy in sport:

Whether you're a top athlete, hobby runner or weekend warrior, recreational athletes stress their bodies functionally and in their ability to regenerate. The demands Olympic athletes and professional sportspeople put on their body's function, and regenerative capacity go even further.

Osteopathic medicine meets both demands. It can prevent overloads by preventive or function-optimising treatments and support the regeneration ability of the body. When accompanying an athlete through the season or in rehabilitation after a sports injury, it is always the goal to ensure that the sport can be continued for as long and healthy a period as possible at every level. Life is movement, and movement has a positive effect on one's body and mental well-being.

Osteopathy and pregnancy:

Within a short period during pregnancy, massive changes in the body occur - for instance, the tissue becomes softer, organs change their position and the body's statics change. A woman has a perfect endogenous program for these changes, which enables her to adapt naturally to the developing life. Her body adjusts to the foetus biomechanically in an ideal way.

However, the older, more immobile and less well the entire system is, the more likely it is to cause disturbances. For example, if there is immobility or instability in the lumbar spine and the pelvic area, back pain may occur. The aim of an osteopathic treatment here would be to gently support the body during these "re-modelling processes" to alleviate possible complaints and to gently eliminate interference fields and blockages.

Osteopathy and diseases of the internal organs:

Osteopathy cannot cure organ diseases, but as a complementary therapy, it is often a valuable enrichment to treatments offered by physicians.

Like joints and muscles, the organs also move within the body. The stomach and the intestine, for example, are very active during digestion. The organs glide against each other while breathing, running, laughing etc. and thus influence each other. If there are tensions in the fascial system, scars or immobility in the back and joints, these restrictions can affect the mobility of the organs and thus their function at the same time.

Osteopathic treatment aims to detect and treat functional disorders. A well-mobile organ can work better and is better supplied with blood and nutrients. These are optimal conditions for a healthy body that the body to heal itself in case of illness.