What is an Osteopath and What Do They Do?
Every part or component plays an important role in your car’s performance. Any damage to one section, such as the suspension or exhaust pipe, also damages others.
Think of your body as a car where all components are interconnected. Osteopathy treats the body as an interconnected system where an issue in one area affects the others. It helps your body achieve homeostasis and fix itself. It. Instead of merely suppressing symptoms with prescription medicines, it helps your body heal itself.
What does an osteopath do? They address musculoskeletal issues through manual therapy, hands-on tissue manipulation, and rehabilitative exercises. An osteopath is a licensed health practitioner who identifies and treats musculoskeletal issues through a hands-on, holistic approach. To become an osteopath in Australia, the individual must complete a minimum of five years of full-time course, including first-hand clinical experience.
To provide you with the supportive care, osteopaths in Australia commit to ongoing continuing professional development (CPD). This ongoing learning keeps us up to date with the latest research, techniques, and approaches so we can better support your health and wellbeing. The CPD facilitates lifelong learning and growth for licensed osteopaths.
Osteopathy is a regulated health profession in Australia, adopting a science-backed approach to treating musculoskeletal issues. An osteopath must register with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency to legally practise.
Such frameworks improve osteopathy’s credibility and efficiency. With each passing year, more people become aware of its outstanding benefits in Australia.
Private health insurance and public care programs such as NDIS, DVA, and WorkCare cover the cost of osteopathic treatments. This is a reflection of osteopathy’s growing popularity and proof of its efficiency. While you can consult an osteopath without being referred by a GP, a referral helps cover your treatment cost under medicare programs. Wondering what does an osteopath do for you? Continue reading to learn all about it.
10 Health Conditions Treated by an Osteopath
Shoulder Pain
Shouldering burdens for way too long? No wonder our shoulders hurt. Jokes aside, shoulder pain is one of the most common issues plaguing our generation. Anyone who thinks shoulder pain is not much of a concern hasn’t experienced it. It can be debilitating and affect people of all ages.
Rotator cuff injuries, tendonitis, frozen shoulder, subacromial impingement, and lifestyle factors are common causes of shoulder pain. What does an osteopath do for shoulder pains? Through hands-on assessment and diagnosis, the practitioner identifies the root cause of the pain and treats it through soft tissue manipulation, joint mobilisation, and manipulative therapy. With osteopathy, you can wave goodbye to shoulder pain, quite literally!
Sports Injuries
Playing hurts. But having to sit out games due to injuries hurt more. Whether you are a professional, a budding athlete, or just play on the weekends for fun, pain shouldn’t stop you from doing what you love.
What an osteopath does is work with you to promote quicker recovery from acute and chronic injuries. Pain, swelling, and tenderness are telltale signs of a sports injury. Failing to treat these injuries will create more problems for you in the future. Continuing to play with an untreated injury can have long-term and detrimental effects on your musculoskeletal system.
Arthritis
Did you know that there are over 100 types of arthritis? A condition associated with chronic pain and inflammation commonly affects adults and seniors. If you or someone you know is affected by arthritis, work with an osteopath for effective pain management.
Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis are most commonly treated by osteopaths, who also work with your GP to offer a comprehensive treatment plan. What does an osteopath do? They provide postural correction therapy to improve your quality of life. They also recommend lifestyle and postural corrections to prevent flare-ups.
Ankle Pain
Ankle pain means no more lifting weights or playing footy on the weekend. It makes donning heels and hitting the clubs impossible. Whether you are wobbly or play sports, ankle injuries are quite common. You can hurt your ankle doing something as basic as walking.
Did you know that seeking prompt treatment is the best way to limit the effects of ankle injuries? That’s right, you cannot go to bed and hope the injury to vanish. While icing helps with swelling and pain, it isn’t quite enough. What osteopaths do is offer effective relief from ankle pain through a holistic, non-invasive, and drug-free method.
Neck Pain
Neck pains got you looking down upon the entire situation? (pun intended). An osteopath near you can finally help you look up without wincing again. The osteopath will understand lifestyle factors contributing to your neck pain before suggesting treatment. Be it long work hours or endless TikTok scrolling, no matter the reason, an osteopath offers a lasting solution through postural suggestions and holistic treatment methods.
Headaches & Migraines
Your boss isn’t the only reason behind your headaches and migraines. Most people aren’t aware that headaches and migraines often start in the neck, shoulders, and upper back.
What does an osteopath do? They help relieve tensions, stimulate blood flow, improve posture, and eliminate headaches.
Hip And Knee Pain
Don’t let hip and knee pain affect the swagger in your stride. The hips and knees are crucial for supporting our body weight. Even the slightest injury can lead to compromised mobility and balance. If you are experiencing hip and knee pain, consult an osteopath as soon as possible. An osteopath effectively resolves hip and knee pain, allowing you to walk into a room with uncompromised confidence.
Jaw Pain
You are forced to be grumpy, as even something as simple as smiling can be challenging when suffering from jaw pain. From misalignments and injuries to post-surgery complications, many reasons contribute to debilitating jaw pain. Wondering what does an osteopath do for you when struggling with jaw pain? Through gentle tissue mobilisation, soft tissue release, and postural correction, osteopaths offer lasting relief from jaw pain.
Lower Back Pain
Tying your shoe or even sitting in a chair for a long time feels like “Mission Impossible”? Lower back pain could be the culprit. Factors such as poor posture, muscle strains, and disc problems contribute to lower back pain. An osteopath, through hands-on assessment and diagnostic imaging, identifies the root cause of your lower back pain. Osteopathy helps you wake up without a stiff back, allowing you to make the best out of your day.
Upper Back Pain
When it comes to receiving effective treatment, the “upper back” doesn’t get the “upper hand”. Upper back pain often gets misdiagnosed due to a lack of awareness. What starts as stiffness gradually progresses into chronic pain. What does an osteopath do in this case? Well, only an experienced osteopath can correctly diagnose upper back pain. Their unmatched knowledge of the human musculoskeletal system proves helpful.. An osteopath, through stress relief methods and personalised exercises, offers permanent relief from upper back pain.
Treatment Modalities of Osteopathy Include
Treatment modalities and techniques vary depending on the practitioner’s methods and the patient’s conditions. We list below some of the most common treatment modalities of osteopathy that yield undisputed results. Continue reading to learn what is an osteopath and what do they do.
Shockwave Therapy
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT), also known as shockwave therapy, is a non-invasive treatment modality that applies acoustic or pressure waves to affected areas. The application of pressure waves directly over the damaged tissues promotes quick recovery.
ESWT stimulates healing by increasing blood flow, regenerating cells, and reducing inflammation. It is often combined with manual therapy and exercises for a comprehensive treatment. The number of sessions required for complete healing depends on factors like age, injury severity, and other existing conditions.
Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation (IASTM)
Primarily used to address soft tissue injuries and chronic pain, it involves the use of specially designed instruments. Featuring bevelled edges and generally made of steel, these instruments are used to apply controlled microtrauma to the affected area.
The goal is to trigger a localised inflammatory response and stimulate blood flow, thus facilitating a quicker recovery. The identification of scar tissues and fibrosis is made easier with specialised instruments. IASTM is a preferred treatment method in sports osteopathy.
Ultrasound-Guided Dry Needling (USGDN)
It is one of the most effective treatment modalities of modern osteopathy. It involves the insertion of sterile microneedles to fix myofascial pain syndromes by releasing tension. The synergy between real-time ultrasound imaging and dry needling enhances precision, facilitating spot-on results. USGDN is the go-to method for osteopaths in treating ligament injuries, muscle spasms, and neck pain.
Laser Therapy
Also known as Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation, laser therapy is used to treat acute and chronic pain resulting from sports injuries, arthritis, and surgical procedures. The light photons interact with the cell molecules, decreasing inflammation and promoting quicker recovery. Laser therapy also increases blood flow, regenerating cells and tissues.
Why Trust Prime Health Hub Taringa
Prime Health Hub ensures to provide you with reliable osteopathy in Brisbane. We do not consider those visiting the clinic as just appointments. Rather, we treat them as family and, through painstaking effort, understand their medical history and conditions.
Our senior osteopaths, Dr. Avinash Sukhtankar and Dr. Archana Sukhtankar, bring ot the table almost five decades of experience. The state-of-the-art clinic situated at 5/200 Moggill Road, Taringa, QLD 4068 is equipped with cutting-edge tools and equipment.
From ultrasound-guided dry needling to shockwave treatment, as well as yoga and meditation, our treatment modalities combine conventional and modern practices.
Call (07) 3568 4775 to book a free discovery call with our practitioner to learn how we can help you.our treatment modalities combine the best of conventional and modern practices.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed in detail what an osteopath is and what they do. We also discussed ten conditions effectively treated by osteopaths and the different treatment modalities they use. If you or someone you know is experiencing any of the conditions listed above, do not hesitate to reach out today.