As an osteopathic manual practitioner, I aim to provide a supportive space for clients to explore their health and vitality at their own pace. In particular, I have a special interest in headaches, sinus problems, and sports injuries.
I truly love what I do, and here are 3 reasons why:
The Ability to Engage in Creative Problem-Solving
Every day at the clinic, I use creative problem-solving to help people. When someone comes to me for osteopathic treatment, they have at least one problem with which they would like some help. I lean on my active listening skills, empathetic nature, and rigorous osteopathic education to get to the root of what is causing the problem at that moment.
I listen to the person’s concerns and treatment goals, then ask questions and gather their health history. It’s important to put on my detective hat and search for clues.
Next, I perform a physical assessment of the client that includes the following:
- Observation of posture and gait
- Biomechanical tests
- Soft tissue evaluation
- Visceral evaluation
- Cranial palpation
I share my findings and individualized treatment plan with the client. We then get to work on the treatment plan that prioritizes the most bothersome complaint for them and go down the list from there. I work with these types of osteopathic techniques during treatment: direct, indirect, myofascial, visceral, and cranial.
Osteopathy is a living and breathing form of manual therapy that adapts to a person’s needs on a particular day. I use creative problem-solving every day, and I love that!
Being Helpful
There are really rewarding moments when I place my hands on a client’s body and ask, “Is this the place that hurts?” and they say yes. We work on and around that place during our treatment. They leap off the table after the treatment, and they feel better and don’t have to come to see me too often.
Here are some examples of this:
An 8-year-old child hurts her ankle at soccer and complains about it for two weeks. She comes to see me for treatment, and then the next day, she tells her parents, “That felt good,” and doesn’t talk about her ankle anymore.
A 38-year-old man can’t sleep through the night because of his heartburn. He is taking prescription medication for the problem. After four osteopathic treatments, he only wakes up once a night, and both he and his wife are getting better sleep now.
Osteopathic treatment was the last piece (in conjunction with his prescription medication) to help him get through the disruption of the painful heartburn during the night. After treatment, he was in less pain and was better rested.
There are times when people have long-standing issues that get nominally better, then maybe worsen. In these cases, it’s not as clear-cut for me as a practitioner, and I don’t get to say, “Look! Osteopathy works! I am useful and competent!” Sometimes my job as an osteopathic manual practitioner is walking with someone on their search for balance in their health and accompanying them on their path.
Sometimes we brainstorm about potential lifestyle modifications, and I refer clients to cognitive behavioural therapists, stress management courses, or acupuncturists to help round out their care plan. Sometimes they need to get an X-ray done again to discover what is happening.
At times people realize they aren’t constantly consumed with the pain in their left shoulder anymore, and after a few months, we confirm that osteopathic treatment has made a difference. But it was a slow road in conjunction with other interventions (like physiotherapy or chiropractic).
Sometimes my osteopathic treatment doesn’t help, and I send people on their way to try someone or something else. Most people, however, positively respond to osteopathic treatment and find that it helps.
The Opportunity to Learn and Apply My Knowledge to Help Others
I continually educate myself about anatomy (what are those muscular attachments of the hyoid, again?), physiology (how does the Gut-Brain-Microbiota Axis work?), osteopathic principles (ooh, a course on myofascial techniques of the shoulder with a teacher from Montreal!), and different ongoing health conditions with which people present (Ehler-Danlos Syndrome, Miller-Fisher Syndrome, etc.).
I also get to apply my embodied knowledge from my career as a professional contemporary dancer and choreographer to a person’s case through the frame of osteopathy and see what happens.
That’s some of the learning I do in the osteopathic realm, and that is very rich territory. Beyond that, I learn a lot in the clinic about how people manage the monotony and complexity of life. I hear many parenting and relationship tips. I see how resilient people are in managing their health and life challenges. I get to meet people from 10 days old to 92 years old, and I learn something from each of them!
Let’s Help You Get Relief
Those are just 3 reasons why I love what I do. Call LiveWell Health and Wellness today to book an appointment with me. I want to help you get relief so you can return to what you love in life!