“Osteopathy is a hands on approach to healthcare recognising the important link between the structures of your body & the way it works. Osteopaths focus on how your skeleton, joints, muscles, nerves and circulation work together to improve your health & well-being,
Osteopathy Australia osteopaths must be university trained (currently 5 years full time), government registered, meet high professional standards and complete annual continuing professional education to practice.
Neck or back pain, sore muscles, sports injuries or recurring headaches – osteopaths treat all kinds of joint or muscular pain and more.”
(Osteopathy Australia, http://www.osteopathy.org.au/).
Osteopathic treatments are eligible for rebates via health insurance extras cover.
Osteopathy was first described by Andrew Taylor Still, a medical doctor, in 1874. His hands-on approach was based on his detailed anatomical knowledge and the belief that optimal health occurs when all cells and tissues in the body function together in harmonious motion. Since then, osteopathy has grown to its present day form, where traditional methods are combined with modern scientific discoveries to support the body’s inherent ability to heal.
Still believed that we are much more than a physical body – he believed in the inter-related nature of our mind, body, heart and spirit. Now that current evidence is supporting this holistic view, for example in the fields of psychoneuroimmunology, nutritional psychiatry and pain science, osteopathy represents a profound contribution to modern day health care.