What is classical osteopathy?
Classical Osteopaths believe that good integration, good function and free movement of the human anatomy contributes to good health and to the function of the immune system. This includes the articulations of the body, their muscular and ligamentous attachments and the organs.
Spinal health and normal mobility is important to the normal function of organs and muscles. The nerves from the spine determine arterial blood flow and drainage to specific areas of the body. Thus the spine is a coordinating centre for the body.
Classical treatment will aim at stripping away the layers of adaptations the body has had to go through along the years, to allow it to return to a true balanced normal.
Classical Osteopaths use a routine called the Total Body Adjustment. It is a routine that goes through the whole spine and all large joints of the body, allowing it to adapt as a unit to a more effective way of dealing with gravity and to balance the tension within the whole body.
A nice analogy is to think of a stone bridge with loose foundations. If either ends of the arch are slowly slipping appart, then the increased space means that the keystone of the bridge drops down. All efforts to push the keystone back up will be pointless if the foundations aren’t stabilised. Similarly, if there has been a dysfunction (dropped keystone) in the body for a while, the rest of the body (foundations) will have adapted around it, thus maintaining that dysfunction. Treating the symptoms alone (the dropped keystone) may show some success on the short term, but they are likely to come back as the rest of the body (the foundation) hasn't been treated. Thus treating the whole body (the foundations) is necessary to address the dysfunction/presenting problem (keystone).
Classical Osteopaths believe that good integration, good function and free movement of the human anatomy contributes to good health and to the function of the immune system. This includes the articulations of the body, their muscular and ligamentous attachments and the organs.
Spinal health and normal mobility is important to the normal function of organs and muscles. The nerves from the spine determine arterial blood flow and drainage to specific areas of the body. Thus the spine is a coordinating centre for the body.
Classical treatment will aim at stripping away the layers of adaptations the body has had to go through along the years, to allow it to return to a true balanced normal.
Classical Osteopaths use a routine called the Total Body Adjustment. It is a routine that goes through the whole spine and all large joints of the body, allowing it to adapt as a unit to a more effective way of dealing with gravity and to balance the tension within the whole body.
A nice analogy is to think of a stone bridge with loose foundations. If either ends of the arch are slowly slipping appart, then the increased space means that the keystone of the bridge drops down. All efforts to push the keystone back up will be pointless if the foundations aren’t stabilised. Similarly, if there has been a dysfunction (dropped keystone) in the body for a while, the rest of the body (foundations) will have adapted around it, thus maintaining that dysfunction. Treating the symptoms alone (the dropped keystone) may show some success on the short term, but they are likely to come back as the rest of the body (the foundation) hasn't been treated. Thus treating the whole body (the foundations) is necessary to address the dysfunction/presenting problem (keystone).