Osteopathy Practice Details

CRANIAL & BIO-DYNAMIC OSTEOPATHY

(expanded to include multidimensional levels of being)

With this approach the practitioner gently places his/her hands on the body and assesses and treats the whole being using the inner life rhythms as a diagnostic tool.  This enables the practitioner (in addition to traditional postural assessment methods) to assess the inner health and function of all organs and tissues of the body and also to gain an understanding of how other levels of being (when linked to multidimensional levels of the whole person – energetic, emotional, mental and spiritual) may influence the physical health and well-being of the individual assessed.

Treatment supports the patient’s inner self healing mechanisms by working with inner life rhythms, energies and forces to help bring the whole being of the patient back into balance.   Rather than working primarily on tissues causing symptoms it focuses instead on identifying and removing impediments to the natural healing processes within the whole person.  Once the whole person is balanced, stress is more likely to be taken off the symptomatic tissues/levels enabling nature herself to do the rest and improve (short and long term) health.

This work does not involve direct pressure as you would usually expect from massage, articulation and manipulative approaches but rather involves placement of the (still) hands on relevant areas of the body, consciously tuning in (to involved conflicted and healthy tissues-layers), working with the rhythms’ (to resolve inner conflict between involved tissues-layers) and then waiting for everything to balance out and function as a whole unit of integrated function.

What may a patient feel?

Depending on awareness, some patients may feel nothing and may wonder if anything is happening at all.  Others may feel a wide range of ‘weird’ and ‘unusual’ sensations occurring throughout all or a part of the body.  Common sensations are heat or cold, heaviness or lightening, relaxation, twitches, tingling feelings and/or wavelike movements.  Because mental, emotional and past trauma patterns are often involved, especially in patients with chronic health issues, it is also not uncommon for people to experience feelings, thoughts and past memories, some of which may be pleasant and some unsettling.  However, because the health within the body is supported (i.e. allowed to resolve imbalances – not force them), however, nothing will come up that is not ready to be resolved and tissue texture, health and function usually improve, even if symptoms on the surface are still present.  The healing process can be likened to pouring clear water (health) into a bucket of mucky water (full of problem patterns).  As health pours in it will flush imbalances to the surface.

After a treatment, the changes may continue to work through the body (particularly the first 48 hrs) and again patients’ may experience a range of effects from nothing (on the surface), to apparent worsening (as issues are naturally flushed up – e.g. changing in pain sensations, emotions, etc), sore or washed out for a few days and then improvement, to what sometimes feels to be a miraculous and sudden improvement.  It all depends on what is happening within (i.e. the complexity/chronicity of the problem pattern) and what a patient is ready for.  However, regardless of the response, because the self healing mechanisms are supported, there is usually an improvement in tissue health, texture, symmetry and function, even when symptoms seem to remain the same or are worse.  Assessing for texture, symmetry and function is how a practitioner truly tells if the treatment is working or not (NOTE: pain itself is not necessarily a reliable indicator of inner function – only of symptom severity) and is why it is very important to have a follow up treatment or two to make sure that things are not ‘no different’ or ‘worse’ but are actually improving underneath.  This is important for both practitioners and patients to be aware of, particularly with patients with chronic health issues.  It is not always smooth sailing at the start.  Usually, if a client sticks with it for a few sessions, they will end up feeling not only better in terms of pain but also in terms of overall health and well being.  As with any treatment, it is not always possible to resolve symptoms in one treatment, but if underlying causes are resolved, good treatment will set the stage for future breakthrough and allow more successful resolution in subsequent treatments (and in a more optimal time frame).   Sometimes it is the inner imbalanced relationships and past patterning with holds the mechanics of the body in a stubborn or recurring pattern.   Once the inner imbalanced rhythms are balanced out and the whole is more integrated, it also often allows outer traditional treatments (massage, manipulation, etc) to work more efficiently.  Thus – it is often good to blend the inner and traditional outer treatment approaches, as well as including self-help and rehabilitation exercises, for the overall health and well being of patients.

Should you have any questions about anything related to your health, this treatment or alternative treatment options, please feel free to ask?