Osteopathy
therapy works on the whole body-the skeleton,
muscles, ligaments and tissues, to reduce discomfort, improving
joint movements and restoring the person to full health.
Andrew Taylor, an American doctor devised it in
1874. He claimed that muscle tensions and misaligned bones
unnecessarily strain the whole body which are caused by factors such as
physical injury, habitual poor posture or by destructive
emotions such as anxiety and fear. He felt that adjusting the
body framework relieves the strain enabling all the systems to
run smoothly so that the body would actually heal itself.
The
spine is considered to be the most important bony structure since
it protects the spinal cord, linking the central nervous
system with the brain, and the nervous system penetrates every
body area, controlling voluntary and involuntary movement and
registering every sensation from smell to pain.
Problems
affecting the structural body upset the balance of the body
generally. Osteopathy focuses on easing muscular
tension and relaxing the muscles, which not only alleviate pain
and stillness, but also reduces the imbalance of the body. The
ribs and diaphragm are surrounded
by muscles and treatment in this area improves existing
respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis.
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