Emily has been practicing Osteopathy for the past 15 years and has spent most of that time at Healthpoint Clinic in Northcote. She has done extensive post graduate training with the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation as well as studies into traditional Osteopathy including Phases 1-9 Biodynamics. She has worked as a clinical supervisor for RMIT students and has helped coordinate, lecture and tutor on courses run for Osteopaths in 2022 (BioBasics). She is currently not seeing Osteopathic clients but would be happy to recommend another Osteopath - feel free to make contact.
Osteopathic principles
The body is a whole and dynamic unit of function incorporating physical, mental and emotional aspects of experience.
The body (whole) has an intrinsic healing and self-regulation capacity. The Osteopath aims to remove any obstruction to normal physiological function in order to support the body's natural healing potential.
That the structure and function of the human body are interrelated and interdependent. With detailed knowledge of this structure, the Osteopath can work to restore optimal functioning.
WHAT IS OSTEOPATHY?
Osteopathy is a dynamic therapeutic framework designed to restore a person's optimal functioning.
In 1874, Andrew Taylor Still MD DO (1828-1917), a medical doctor living on the Missouri frontier, discovered the significance of living anatomy in health and disease. Dr. Still realised that optimal health is possible only when all of the tissues and cells of the body function together in harmonious motion. He reasoned that disease could have its origins in slight anatomical deviation from normal. He then proved he could restore health by treating the body with his hands, naming his innovative approach to restoring health: Osteopathy. He understood that the human body is composed of many parts, all intimately related as a functional whole. More than a hundred years ago, Dr. Still realised that the human being is more than just a physical body. He envisioned a totally new medical system that acknowledges the relationships of the body, mind, emotions and spirit.
As a practicing physician Dr. Still diligently researched and developed osteopathy. He discovered that he had the ability to put his hands on patients, change their physiology and restore health. He developed a very practical way of treating people using just his hands. Today, osteopathic physicians continue to use their hands to treat their patients in this same tradition.
In the late 1800s none of today's miracle drugs, such as antibiotics, were available. Out of necessity, Dr. Still looked first to nature's own ability to heal and found a way to access this ability within the body. Still saw this self-correcting potential as a cornerstone of his osteopathic philosophy. When combined with appropriate use of present day medical therapeutics, osteopathy offers a profound contribution to the practice of medicine.
The Osteopath uses their detailed knowledge of anatomy and physiology - as well as range of motion testing, palpation and special tests - to assess the bones, joints, muscles, nerves, connective tissue and viscera for any obstruction to normal functioning. Using a variety of treatment modalities (massage, muscle energy technique, manipulation, articulation, counterstrain, cranial osteopathy) the Osteopath aims to restore optimal structure to support the body's constant movement toward Health.
“It is the object of the physician to find health, anyone can find disease.”