Osteopathic Manual Practice

Disclaimer

California law recognizes only Osteopathic Physicians/Surgeon holding a DO title.

We received a DOMP title (Diploma of Osteopathic Manual Practice) which is accepted in many international jurisdictions but not in California as a result of resent legislation effective January 1, 2025.

Further, we are not an Osteopathic Physician/Surgeon, or a Practicing Doctor in any shape or form, and do not provide Medical Services, Prescribe Medications, nor do I Diagnose or Treat Disease, or Perform Chiropractic Manipulation.

Osteopathic Manual Practice is an established recognized system of healthcare which relies on manual contact for functional diagnosis and treatment. It respects the relationship of body, mind and spirit in health and disease; it lays emphasis on the structural and functional integrity of the body and the body's intrinsic tendency for self-healing.

Osteopathic treatment is viewed as a facilitative influence to encourage this self regulatory process. Pain and disability experienced by patients are viewed as resulting from a reciprocal relationship between the musculoskeletal and visceral components of a disease or strain.

It is a form of assistance focused on the health of the person rather than on the disease; makes use of a causal and non-symptomatic approach (often the cause of pain is located far from the painful area), looking for the functional alterations of the body that lead to signs and symptoms that can then lead to pains of various kinds.

The term "Osteopathy" was coined by its founder, the American surgeon Dr Andrew Taylor Still, who at the end

of the nineteenth century discovered the relationships between the functional balance of the body's entire structure and health.

Dr.Andrew Taylor Still
Founder of Osteopathy

Differences between Osteopathic Doctors
and Osteopathic Manual Practitioners

The training of osteopathic manual practitioners and osteopathic physicians have the same origin - in the work of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still.

From the beginning of 20th century, however, these two fields were evolving differently.

As the name indicates, osteopathic physicians are medical doctors. As such, they are trained to prescribe drugs, perform surgery, deliver babies, and to have the prerequisites to specialize in other branches of medicine. Osteopathic physicians are almost exclusively trained in the USA.

Osteopathic Manual Practitioners (or European Style Osteopaths) are not DOs, or MDs, they are not trained in allopathic medicine but purely osteopathic manual treatment. Osteopathic Manual Practitioners (OMP) are trained all over the world.

Osteopathic Principles

The human being is a dynamic unit of functions, whose state of health is determined by body, mind, and spirit.

The body possesses mechanisms of self-regulation and self-healing.

The structure and function are mutually inter-related.

Rational therapy is based on the application of all three principles

body unit

In Osteopathy it is not the therapist who heals, but his role is to eliminate the "obstacles" to the body's communication pathways in order to allow the body, by exploiting its self-regulation phenomena, to achieve healing.

The human being is a complex system capable of generating adaptations, his state of health can be influenced by relationships with the environment (natural or socio-cultural), genetic / epigenetic factors and Psychological factors.

The individual is seen as a whole as a system composed of muscles, skeletal structures and internal organs that find their connection in the nerve centers of the spine.

Each constituent part of the person (including the psyche) and the environment in which he lives is correlated by the others and the correct functioning of each ensures that of the entire structure: therefore, well-being and health.

Relation Between Structure and Function

Dr. Still concluded that Osteopathy could be summed up in one sentence

"structure governs function".

The perfection of each function is linked to the perfection of the supporting structure; if this balance is altered, an osteopathic dysfunction is found, characterized by a body area in which the correct mobility has been lost.

The body will react to this imbalance by creating areas of compensation and body adaptations that are not favorable to the general well-being of the body.

Osteopathic Approaches

Structural Approach

Applications of techniques for the release of tension in the muscles and improvement of the quality of movement in the joints. Apart from direct effect on the functions of the muscular-skeletal system, this approach also brings in biochemical effect, as it stimulates the correct exchange of fluids within the treated structures.

Visceral Approach

Techniques that restore mobility and motility of an organ. These techniques stimulate organs towards a correct digestive, absorption or expulsion function, both in mechanical and biochemical field.

Fascial Approach

Techniques applied to the fascia - the connective tissue beneath the skin, that attaches to, connects, stabilizes, separates internal organs, muscles, and all the structures of the body. The continuous palpatory feedback is used to obtain a relaxation of myofascial tissues. These techniques act on the fascia to facilitate the healthy communication in the body to treat musculoskeletal disorders, pain and tension.

Cranial Approach

These techniques work on the movement of congruence between the bones of the skull, nervous system, meningeal and cefalorachidian liquor levels. With these techniques, osteopathy works in particular on the vitality of the organism, a fundamental quality that allows living beings to react effectively to disturbing events from the external and internal environment.

Who will benefit from Osteopathic Manual Practice

Osteopathy, thanks to the principles on which it is based, can be performed and be beneficial for people of all ages, from the newborns to the elderly.

It is a safe non-invasive treatment which can be applied also during pregnancy.

It is effective in treating various disorders such as: headaches, back pain, cervical pain, joint and muscle pain, TMJ dysfunctions, changes in balance, gynecological and digestive disorders, cervicalgia, lumbalgia, sciatic neuropathia, arthritis, discopathy and others.

Pediatric Patient

In the pediatric field, the osteopath uses delicate and painless techniques to solve some common problems among the little ones. .

Thanks to specific treatments, Osteopathy works dysfunctions that often occur in different types of delivery (eutocic, cesarean, with episiotomy, with epidural); promptly identifying and intercepting the causes of the ailments that children suffer allows that these problems do not become chronic, conditioning their development.

Among the main disorders caused by traumas that occurred during childbirth or in the first weeks of life, there are:

scoliosis
gaseous colic
constipation
regurgitation and gastroesophageal reflux
recurrent otitis and sinusitis
plagiocephaly
congenital myogenic torticollis
difficulty resting

The osteopath, with light manipulations and delicate touches, directs the treatment towards the removal of the blocks and malfunctions underlying these disorders, rebalancing the surface and deep tensions, and thus restoring the normal functioning of the body.

Senior Patients

As we age we face a series of pathologies and physical problems that can seriously affect a person's quality of life. These problems often depend on factors such as the work done, the trauma suffered, the pathologies encountered but with the passing of the years we all suffer from pain and we all have some difficulties.

Osteopathy can be a very valuable help for this phase of life: with gentle and painless treatments, you can face the various problems that affect the elderly person in everyday life.

Osteopathic treatment relieves pain and reduces discomfort, helping older people to maintain tone and vitality.

Pathologies such as arthrosis and joint pain are to be considered physiological, normal at a certain age but these conditions cannot be allowed to compromise a person in a debilitating way; the pains caused by these pathologies lead to adopting incorrect postures that, in the long term, multiply the tensions of the different areas of the body, thus increasing the pain.

Osteopathic treatment significantly alleviates the symptoms, restoring the mobility and functionality of the body and helping the patient to find well-being and a more peaceful life.

When should you go to osteopathy?
Osteopathic treatments are indicated in case of:

arthritis
muscle pain
decrease or loss of joint mobility
functional problems at the visceral level
sleep problems
fall without loss of consciousness or without fractures
ENT problems
headaches

Equally important is the preventive approach:

to take stock of your health
when you stop working
before starting a new sport
In addition to problems concerning the musculoskeletal system, osteopathic treatment is effective for very common diseases such as hypertension and hypotension, intestinal difficulties, urinary incontinence and vascular problems, improving the metabolism and functionality of the various organs and promoting blood circulation and drainage.

Pregnancy and Post-Partum

Osteopathy helps pregnant women to assist the changes taking place in their body in a gentle and harmonious way.

This is essential to better experience one of the most engaging periods in a woman's life. Pregnancy is the period in which women are more aware of the processes of their body: it produces a substantial postural and functional change to which the female body can be subjected.

For some women, pregnancy also means having to deal with certain ailments related to the progressive growth of the baby in the womb which, week by week, causes the shift of the center of gravity and continuous structural and visceral changes.

These changes require continuous adaptations by the musculoskeletal system which often struggles to respond adequately causing several complications:

Osteopathy addresses and solves painful problems affecting the spine and related muscles such as:

low back pain
sciatica
neck pain
disturbances related to fluid retention (especially during the last trimester of gestation) which can cause:
important swelling of the lower and upper limbs
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (which manifests itself with pain and tingling in the wrist and fingers)
nausea
digestive difficulties
constipation

The osteopathic pathway during pregnancy can promote tissue elasticity and joint mobility by facilitating both labor and expulsion.
Osteopathy during the post-partum phase speeds up the recovery of the skeletal muscle balance and any scarring results from cesarean section or episiotomy.
One of the most annoying aspects of the postpartum phase is mild urinary incontinence. Osteopathy, through techniques aimed at strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, combined with specific perineal gymnastics, helps resolve urinary incontinence.

Feeding time
The positions taken during the lactation period can predispose the onset of painful symptoms affecting the back and cervical muscles. An osteopathic manual practitioner can also help in solving these problems by providing adequate indications on the correct postures to maintain.

Sport Patient

Sport in all its manifestations plays a very important role for our psychophysical well-being. Each sport has its own characteristics and peculiarities, just like those who practice it, and it is therefore essential to consider the sports patient according to the discipline performed.

Some parts of the body are physiologically subjected to greater stress and these structures, if not adequately protected, may undergo degeneration over time, becoming weaker and therefore predisposed to inflammation, laxity or injury.

Osteopathic treatment can limit the onset and relapses of these problems, as well as help their healing.

Osteopathic treatment, thanks to the non-invasive handling techniques, can:

Improve the efficiency of the musclular-scheletal system
Promote metabolic and respiratory functions
Preventing accidents

Services and Fees

Free Phone Consultation: - 15 mins

First Visit: 340$ - 90 mins

Follow Up Session: 250$ - 50 mins

Long Follow Up Session: 340$ - 90 mins

Pediatric First Visit: 250$ - 50 mins

Pediatric Follow Up Session: 180$ - 30 mins

Osteopathic Manual Practice services are NOT covered by any insurance.

We do NOT provide super-bills for Osteopathic Manual Practice services.