Oftentimes, members of the Halton community are curious and ask: just what is Osteopathy, anyway?
This is where Burlington, Ontario-based osteopath Ernest Geid explains that manual Osteopathy and its sub-specialty — Craniosacral Therapy — are a form of natural medicine that treat the body as one single functioning unit.
“Osteopathy is a gentle, non-invasive, hands-on treatment that connects the dots between all parts of the body to bring everything working together in harmony for your best health,” Geid says.
This could mean your best physical or emotional health, he adds.
“The body holds every kind of pain — from sports injuries to car accidents, to strain from poor posture or workplace conditions, to emotions at the root of stress, anxiety, depression, or burnout.”
How does Osteopathy work?
“Osteopathy works by assessing and addressing all movement restrictions within the body that can prevent you from feeling healthy and well,” Geid shares. “This isn’t just joint mobility, which is what we often think of when we think of movement; this also includes blood circulation, the central nervous system, autonomic nervous system including sympathetic & parasympathetic, lymphatic system, tissue and membranes movements, cerebrospinal fluid, neural pathways, and more.”
The Four Basic Principles of Osteopathy
The four basic principles of osteopathy are as follows:
#1 — Each structure in the body supports the body’s functions
“If a structure is out of place, damaged, or not working properly, the body will not function at its best,” Ernest Geid explains.
#2 — The natural flow of the body’s fluids must be preserved and maintained
“This means the lymphatic system, the vascular system, and the neurological system,” he adds.
#3 — The human body is the sum of its parts
“Osteopathy is built on the premise that each of our physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and cognitive systems work together within us in harmony, not independent of each other.”
#4 — When the body has no restrictions, it has the inherent ability to heal itself
“In many cases, the body is able to restore or revitalize its functionality to enable a greater feeling of well-being.”
Did you know? The term ‘osteopathy’ can often be misunderstood — even among some osteopaths!
“Too often, Osteopathy is thought of as only relating to bones,” Geid explains.
Stemming from two Greek words — ‘osteon,’ which means “structure of living matter,” and ‘pathos,’ which envelops concepts like “incoming impression,” “profound emotion,” or sympathy, empathy, and even telepathy — the term “osteopathy” could be explained as “sensing or perceiving the influence of the bones or structure on the body in relation to disease, causation, and cure.”
“Or, more simply put,” Geid says, “Osteopathy is ‘the science of perceiving structure.’”
It’s the gentle art of connecting every aspect of the body into one effective treatment that makes Manual Osteopathy and Craniosacral Therapy a top-chosen pain relief treatment for clients in Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Milton, Waterdown, and the greater Halton area.
For information on the various concerns seeing an Osteopath like Ernest Geid can help with, please see more information here!
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