About osteopathy
Osteopathy treats the body as a whole. It lays its main emphasis on the structural integrity of the body and how this affects its function.
Osteopathy is distinctive in that it recognises much of the pain and disability we suffer from stems from abnormalities in the function of the body structure allowing damage to it from disease.
Dr Andrew Taylor Still founded osteopathy in America in 1874. Dr Still developed manipulation techniques to promote a healthy body, which would better be able to withstand the assaults of disease upon it. Although Still's principles are still in practice today, they have been refined and developed by osteopathic and medical research since then.
Osteopaths, such as myself, are trained to examine how different parts of the body relate to each other, how the body moves and how it handles the demands placed upon it. We use a highly developed sense of touch, called palpation, to identify any points of weakness or excessive strain in the body.
Since 1993, Osteopathy has been recognised in law by the Osteopath's Act as having the same status as dentistry and medicine.