Osteopaths use a whole-body approach, often called the biopsychosocial approach, to consider the cause of your injury or pain, not just your symptoms. This means reflecting on and managing the biological (body), psychological (mental) and social (environment) factors that may be affecting your health and wellbeing. It works on the principle that everything is connected.
Bio (body)
Psycho (mental health)
Social (support)
Osteopaths use science to help you to understand the root cause of your pain and develop a personalised plan to support you to exercise safely, manage your stress, sleep better, and improve your general health and wellbeing so you can get on with living life to the full.
Biomechanics
Everything is connected
‘Biomechanics’ involves the study of how each part of the musculoskeletal system interacts with and influences every other part of the body, and is central to osteopathy.
Osteopaths will therefore look at any joint or muscle injury by considering how one part of the body might affect another and, hence, cause injury or pain. For example, an ankle injury may mean that you limp and favour the other foot. Over time, this may lead to other injuries, such as soreness in the non-injured ankle, knee or hip, or perhaps back pain.
Osteopaths will review any injury or pain you have by looking at your entire musculoskeletal system, and checking other systems of the body – such as your circulatory, nervous and lymphatic systems – to see if they may be affecting the healing process.
Osteopathic treatment and management
Osteopathic treatment and management is based on evidence-based science and research and is used to strengthen the musculoskeletal framework to improve your health and relieve pain. This involves one or a combination of the following:
Checking your musculoskeletal and nervous systems
Providing non-invasive manual therapy, when appropriate
Developing clinical exercise programs
Providing movement, postural and positioning advice
Providing ongoing support and educational advice about lifestyle, stress management, diet or other factors that may influence pain, injury or movement
