All of us have suffered a headache at some point in our lives. Headaches that are recurrent in nature are undeniably debilitating and can affect our overall quality of life.

Despite the prevalence of headache and migraine, the majority of people do not seek medical attention for long-term cases. Most people turn to painkillers and similar medications for treatment, if you take enough and are sensitive this can very easily  then affect other organs like our liver and digestive tract, causing more long term health issues.

What causes headaches?

There is still limited understanding of the ultimate cause of headaches. In most cases though, the mechanical causes of headaches are often ignored even though they are a very common cause.. This includes muscular tension that centres on the neck and shoulder regions and tight joints in your neck, jaw and upper back are common triggers of headaches and migraines. The sudden onset of headache may be a primary symptom of a joint-related condition around the neck region.

Stress and chronic fatigue have also been identified as factors that lead to headache recurrences. When the underlying causes of headaches are not managed properly, the frequency of headaches increase over time.

How does osteopathy treat migraine and headache?

Typically, an osteopathic practitioner will ask a series of questions that initially may seem irrelevant to a patient like you. It is necessary to answer all questions truthfully so that an osteopathy professional can formulate a safe and effective management plan for you. The answers you supply to an osteopathic doctor will also help him determine whether an osteopathic treatment plan will be suitable in your case.

Patients are typically asked about the following things:

• When the headache started to occur
• The location of headache pain and other affected regions
• The quality of pain and daily patterns
• The severity and duration of headache episodes
• Potential headache triggers
• Specific movements that may aggravate the headache
• Any other symptoms that may accompany headache and migraine such as vision changes and stiff neck to name a few.

Traditional diagnostic procedures such as neurological examination and x-ray may also be ordered by an osteopathic physician before they formulate an effective treatment plan for you.

If your headache or migraine is triggered by a musculoskeletal condition, a plan needs to be put in place to manage it.

Some of the most popular forms of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) for headaches and migraines are as follows:

• Manual therapy has proven to be helpful for chronic headaches and migraines. Potentially even more so than prescription medications such as amitriptyline, and with fewer side effects.
• Gentle soft tissue massage and manipulation of the neck and upper spinal joints can alleviate a headache.
• Lymphatic drainage techniques, trigger point therapy, and acupuncture is also promising OMT treatment modalities that provide relief among patients suffering from chronic headaches and migraines.
•  Stretching exercises may also be recommended by an osteopathic physician as well as recommendations on proper posture for in-home practice.

If you suffer from headaches and want to know if osteopathy can treat your condition do not hesitate to contact us on 03 9663 5450.

Osteopaths in Melbourne offer a non-invasive alternative therapy that aims to improve not only an individual’s musculoskeletal system, but is also beneficial across vital body systems through manual therapy.

Individuals who wish to treat injuries as well as strengthen and condition the musculoskeletal system should look into obtaining services from the best osteopaths Melbourne has to offer.

What do osteopath clinics in Melbourne focus on?

An osteopath has three main focal points during treatment:

• Muscles
• Spinal column
• Joints

The following organ systems are directly influenced by osteopathic manipulative treatments:

• Musculoskeletal system
• Nervous system
• Lymphatic system
• Circulatory system

The manual medicine utilised by osteopathic doctors during both treatment and diagnosis is what separates osteopathy from other complementary therapies disciplines such as chiropractic medicine and physiotherapy.

The most common problems that osteopaths in Melbourne diagnose, treat, and manage are as follows:

• Acute and chronic back pain
• Headache and migraine attacks
• Tennis and golfer’s elbow pain
• Hand, shoulder, and elbow pains
• Postural problems
• Neuralgia
• Insomnia

During an initial consultation, an osteopathic practitioner will assess your condition and listen to your primary complaints. Once an interview is completed, an osteopathic professional will then perform manual manipulation to diagnose the condition as well as discuss solutions to achieve pain relief. Referrals will be made to other members of the healthcare team if and when additional treatment interventions are deemed necessary.

Osteopathy centres on  the delivery of effective and fast relief and comfort to its patients. If you wish to schedule an initial consultation with the best osteopathic doctors practicing in Melbourne, please give us a call on 03 9663 5450 today.

Osteopathy plays an important role in the strength and conditioning of athletes. This type of alternative medicine is fast becoming a common solution for athletes in the prevention and management of sports-related injuries. Professional athletes who undergo high-level sports training on a regular basis find osteopathy highly beneficial as it provides a host of benefits, all of which contribute to excellent overall performance.

How does osteopathy help athletes?

Sports injuries are common, especially among athletes involved in contact sports. Bruises, sprains, and muscle strains are part of an athlete’s life. As injuries are inevitable in the world of sports, athletes turn to osteopathy in keeping their bodies conditioned and at the best shape possible on and off season.

In essence, osteopathy deals with problems that involve the musculoskeletal system. It identifies, diagnoses, and treats problems relating to bones, tissues, muscles, and ligaments. The broad approach of osteopathy makes it easier to identify problems such as localized pain or general complaints among athletes.

The benefits from regular visits to the best Melbourne osteopathic clinic are as follows:

• Minimise risk of future injuries.
• Overall improvement of health and performance.
• Prepare the body for training by identifying and treating imbalances resulting in increased performance.
• Manual techniques utilised by osteopaths help increase muscular strength, improve flexibility and may even improve lung capacity.
• Post-training and post-game, osteopathy helps release pain and may guarantee faster recovery from injuries such as fractures and traumas.

What osteopathy treatments are commonly provided to athletes during their visit at a Melbourne osteopathic clinic?

The best osteopath will tailor the treatment on an athlete’s sport, level of training, lifestyle and general health conditions. All of these factors help create an effective treatment plan that will help athletes excel and improve their overall performance.

Common osteopathic treatments include:

• Joint articulation
• Joint manipulation
• Sports taping
• Soft tissue massage
• Deep tissue massage
• Prescription of functional exercises

If you wish to learn more about how osteopathy can help you improve your performance as an athlete, or simply want to get rid of aches and pains, you may book an appointment today. Call us on 03 9663 5450.

The demand for the services of chiropractors and osteopaths has been steadily rising in recent years. Although both disciplines are focused on improving physical well being through pain relief, their approaches are vastly different from one another.

In this article, we will discuss some of the similarities and differences between osteopathy and chiropractic medicine. Learning more about osteopathy and chiropractic medicine will help you decide on which professional to see, thus saving you money and providing you with the right set of treatments for long-term benefits.

First, we look at the similarities,

• Chiropractors and osteopaths in Melbourne both treat musculoskeletal pain and discomfort.
• Practitioners are required to acquire relevant qualifications in order for them to be  certified as competent in providing treatment to patients. Professionals in both fields are also required to undergo continuous training to provide first-class care to patients.

Is osteopathic manipulation the same as chiropractic?

As you can see, osteopaths and chiropractors both aim to provide relief to patients suffering from different musculoskeletal conditions. Understanding what sets them apart will help you in painting a clear picture of which treatment is best suited for your case:

• Chiropractors can render relief from pain and discomfort by joint adjustments and manipulation of the spinal column as well as limbs. They often believe that the cause of pain is due to joint subluxations.
• Osteopathy also relies on manual manipulation, but combine this with a huge amount of soft tissue mobilisation and gentle techniques aiming to reduce soft tissue tension which can impact onto joint health, we believe this allows our treatment to have longer standing effects. Our goal is to restore structural alignment and to reduce soft tissue tension to alleviate pain and enhance overall function of the musculoskeletal system.
• Chiropractic treatment generally provides for shorter treatment times than Osteopathic treatment.  Longer treatment times allows your Osteopath to delve deeper into your problem and understand better your psycho emotional situation, your pain situation and to undertake more gentle, calm treatment options.

Now that you have some basic knowledge about the two disciplines, we hope that it will help you make a decision on whether osteopathy is the right treatment for you.

If you wish to know more or set up an appointment with us, you may reach us on 03 9663 5450.