how the treatment works...

In response to physical knocks or emotional stress, the body’s tissues contract. Sometimes, particularly when the shock is severe or occurs within an emotional situation, the tissues stay contracted.

Any stresses, strains, tensions or traumas which have been stored in the body in this way will restrict the body’s functioning and may give rise to problems over the years. The effects may be both physical (such as back pain, migraine or digestive disorders) and emotional (such as anxiety or depression).

Restrictions in the body’s functioning show up in the way that motion is expressed. Osteopath's are trained to feel both the subtle and larger physical motions in the body, and use this to identify areas where there is congestion or restriction. In this way osteopaths can identify the origin of a problem. Then, using the hands to reflect back to the body the pattern it is holding, the therapist provides an opportunity for the body to let go of its restrictive pattern and return to an easier mode of functioning.

As well as releasing the body’s tensions, treatment frees the energy which the body was previously using to hold itself in contraction. So one of the benefits of the therapy is an increase in the level of energy available.