Osteopathy utilizes manual therapy to increase wellness throughout the body. It is a gentle, natural, drug-free modality that manipulates the visceral, musculoskeletal, lymphatic, spinal and cranial regions to help stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself. Thus, a manual osteopath will apply gentle pressure, tension, stretching and light touch as needed to help improve the body’s flexibility, immunity, circulation, respiratory, lymphatic and positional potentials to reduce pain, inflammation and other difficulties. While osteopathic treatments often focus on the joints, muscles, and spine, they are also applicable in the digestive, visceral and other regions. Manual osteopathy typically uses hands-on therapy, but there are a number of additional tools an osteopath may employ, such as aquatic therapy, exercises, orthotics, bracing, taping and other systems to bring about the body’s ability to heal. The manual osteopath may also provide advice for improving fitness, diet and w...
