What does an Osteopath actually do??
Well, to be technical, an Osteopath is a protected title for Medical Doctors in the states. In Canada, the designation we take is an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner (D.O.M.P). Literally speaking, osteopathy is the study of anything that goes wrong in the body, therefore an Osteopath, is the fix-it guy. They are the one-stop shop for all of your engineering, plumbing, electrical, structural and commercial needs.
Osteopaths don't just read the instructors manual to the body, wait does that even exist? Instead they become a connoisseur of the body, getting to know every cell, how it moves, how it breathes, what it communicates with, and where it came from. Further than that, an Osteopath develops a language to understand each cell's identity, and during a treatment will actually be listening to this language. Still picturing the plumber talking to the toilet?
Once the Osteopath has determined the problem within the tissues, now it is time to figure out how it got there. They become the ultimate "chicken and the egg" riddle solvers. Once the original dysfunctions are identified, it's time to break out the tools. Except an Osteopath doesn't carry around a tool belt, all they require is their hands. As if pulling the distinct fragrance from a new blend of wine, or feeling a pea below a stack of 100s of mattresses, an Osteopath uses the art of palpation to sense alterations within your cells.
Now they become an engineer, treating a bridge that has a weakness in a truss. But this isn't any bridge, it's the Golden Gate bridge, it is made out of water and feathers, held up only through balance and tensegrity, and the Queen just called, she need's to cross.
It takes years of practice and education for an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner to develop the art and finesse of treatment, and most would agree that the learning never ends. The delicate application of touch, knowledge of anatomy and physiology, and continual communication with the body allows the Osteopath to achieve the best results in your treatment.
