This month, we’re observing Arthritis Awareness Month by encouraging joint pain sufferers to consider osteopathic treatment for arthritis. The problem with arthritis being such a common malady is that many medical practitioners (and patients) think they have to live with chronic pain. If your status-quo medical treatment is not bringing you adequate relief from your joint pain, inflammation, and limited function, gentle osteopathic therapy may have something to offer.
Are you ready to try a more direct approach to treatment for arthritis? Call Jenna Howe today at (250) 704-4421 to make an appointment at our Victoria, BC office.
What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a primary health care system based on the idea that the body functions best as a whole and is composed of integrated parts. This is not a radical idea, as the spine and nervous system control all motor function, as well as our pain receptors. By treating the body as a functioning whole, osteopathy aims to remove the barriers that prevent natural healing and regenerative processes from taking place.
Osteopathy is an ideal complement other forms of medicine and can make them more effective. If your current pain treatment is not working well, osteopathy may help your body unlock its power to heal itself and restore the mobility you’ve lost to arthritis.
Osteopathic Therapy for Joint Pain
Osteoarthritis (arthritis) occurs when the soft tissues of the joints become inflamed by repetitive motions and cartilage degeneration that occurs over time. Arthritis is considered a normal part of the aging process, but it can lead to limitations on your daily activities and debilitating pain. No one should have to think of that as “normal.”
Medication-based treatment for arthritis may have some affect on calming enflamed tissues, but gentle physical manipulation provides a more direct approach without affecting your body systemically or causing unpleasant side-effects. We always encourage patients who are considering surgery to give osteopathic manipulation a try—as it may provide enough relief to save them the stress and added hassle of a surgical procedure.
Osteopathic therapy may include:
- Osteopathic mobilization and articulation of the joints
- Osteopathic Stretching – mild isolated stretching techniques can allow overtaxed muscles to relax and reduce strain on fascia, nerves, and muscles. With better circulation and range of motion, stretching can help the body heal itself.
- Bowen Therapy – soft tissue manipulations of muscles, nerves, and tendons, punctuated by short pauses, can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and improve the message-ways through the central nervous system
- Physical Therapy Home Exercise- prescribed to help build protective muscle and mobility around affected joints
What to Expect
When you come to our office, we will take the time to learn which joints are giving you the most trouble and learn which daily activities are most affected by your limited mobility. Once we understand your condition, we will put together a series of stretches and manual techniques designed to improve blood flow and drainage to your affected joints. Since no two bodies are identical, your treatment will be unique to your concerns, symptoms, muscle strength, and range of motion.
Using gentle manual manipulation and stretching, we can usually release muscle tension around the affected joints and improve circulation and lymph flow to the area. This can reduce swelling, increase flexibility, and restore some mobility to stiff joints.
Each session will last about an hour, and we may ask you to lie, sit, stretch, resist against gentle pressure, and demonstrate range of motion during the treatment. We will also recommend a series of simple exercises to perform at home to extend your positive results and build upon them.
Osteopathy in Victoria
I am Jenna Howe, manual osteopathic practitioner in Victoria BC. I have helped many patients reduce inflammation and pain in the hips, knees, hands, elbows, and feet; I may be able to help you, too. To learn more about osteopathic treatment for arthritis, please contact me today. My clinic is located at 1095 McKenzie Ave, inside the DataTech Business Centre.
