By in Osteopathy

How Osteopathy Can Offer Pain Relief for Acute and Chronic Back Pain

Osteopathy is helpful in the treatment of joints that have a reduced range of motion, as seen in many musculoskeletal conditions.

This can be chicken or egg stuff…  Is it the joint dysfunction that causes muscle tightness? Or the muscle tightness that restricts the joint range of motion? Such limitation and altered movement patterns can lead to discomfort, pain, and an alteration in posture.

Osteopathy involves restoring mobility to stiff joints and reducing muscle tension in order to return the patient to more natural movement, without pain. Thus, your Osteopath provides back pain relief for both patients with chronic back pain involving joint problems, such as sacroiliac joint dysfunction; and acute back pain from soft tissue injuries such as a muscle strain or a ligament sprain.

Treatment techniques are used to relax muscle tension and release restricted joints in order to increase flexibility and reduce pain.

Normal therapeutic protocols will incorporate the following types of treatments:

Soft tissue work, including massage, applies pressure to the soft tissues of the body such as the muscles, tendons and ligaments. This pressure eases and relaxes muscles, increases circulation and cellular nutrition, breaks up scar tissue and eases pain.

In some cases where pain limits the pressure that can be applied, acupuncture (Known as dry needling) can be used to reduce pain and allow for deeper techniques to be applied.

Mobilization and manipulation use measured movements of varying speed (slow to fast) and force (gentle to forceful) to move and encourage joints into an increased range of motion. This can help loosen tight tissues, reduce pain in a joint and the surrounding tissues, and help with flexibility and symmetry.

There are extensive clinical study data and patient reports to support the assertion that Osteopathy is effective in relieving back pain for certain patients.

Louise
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