Preventative, Curative and Palliative
Preventative: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”
A younger body can bounce back up after a serious fall almost instantly, however, even an older, well aligned body is able to handle any physical strains much better than one out of alignment. It is much easier for the body to heal and restore normal function when we get on top of things early. Just like taking your car to a mechanic a few times a year, taking your body to the osteopath before things happen can put it in a much better position to handle the physical strains of exercise, falls and repetitive movements/postures we hold in our jobs.
Curative: True healing is about finding the cause, not addressing the symptom
The reason osteopathy is so effective is that it never reduces assessment and treatment to one area of the body. Through collective mechanics, it explores what happens when one area of the body stops moving, and how that puts more strain on other areas of the body. Too much strain disrupts blood, nerves and lymphatics and puts your body in a position where it has to do the best it can with what it has. Our bodies are much smarter than we give them credit for, and if we don’t seek to understand the cause, then we are left treating the symptoms, and the symptoms of whatever we use to treat the symptoms.
Palliative: Make life a little lighter for yourself
Sometimes, we’re the victims of bad genetics, unlucky accidents, or poor quality healthcare. However just because things have happened to us, does not mean we are not responsible for taking care of our bodies. This is probably my favorite part of what osteopathy can do for people; helping a person who is in deep physical distress, and working with that body to provide some sort of relief for a person who had every right to give up on life. Sometimes that relief only comes for short periods with treatment, and sometimes we can turn things around to a point which treatment becomes more curative. Migraines, digestive issues, hips or other joints that are not far from needing surgical intervention, all of these things may be more palliative in nature, but can be eased with treatment.