Muscle Tightness: Do you have stiff muscles?

Do your muscles feel tight? Do you have stiffness in your body?  You're not alone, muscular stiffness and tightness is one of the most common problems we encounter..  Osteopaths unlike any other manual therapy have a very unique method in assisting your tightness. It’s called Counterstrain or Positional Release. 

"The MET method works due to the natural neurological impulse to relax the opposing muscle when one muscle contracts. Used correctly, Muscle Energy Technique can help patients to: Realign muscle groups. Re-educate muscles to restore a full range of motion." -OVCMT

When there is a strain, or tension in your muscles this sensation is transmitted to your brain as a message. Your brain will then respond to this message by adding further muscle tightness to the problem area or surrounding areas as a means of protection.  This response is not always helpful to your health.

One of the great things about Osteopaths is we have many ways of addressing muscle tightness. Techniques like Massage, or joint or muscular stretching (MET), postural correction can potentially assist you with muscle tightness but all these create a therapeutic pain to release the tension. There is however, several ways to skin a cat as they say and Counter-strain offers a very effective pain free alternative to this problem.

An Osteopath using Counter-strain will find the tight area in a region and then positions the body to take all the tension out of these tissues. This results in your nervous system feeding this change back to the brain. It will often take up to one minute for your brain to register that the area isn’t in trouble any more, and that it doesn’t need protecting.

What is the science behind how this works?

There are several nerve endings in your muscles and joints called Golgi Tendon Organs that feedback tension to your brain.  When this same area is placed in a relaxed position the Golgi Tendon Organs also feedbacks this change to the brain.  The brain then responds with feedback of its own, which will result in resetting of the muscular length and a much more relaxed muscle. The beauty of counter strain is that it is, pain free, stress free and it affect the central nervous system which results in a much more permanent and lasting change in the muscle tightness. This can potentially help you feel looser and less tense.

You may never have heard of this type of therapy so why not give [Osteopathy] a go and see if counter-strain can help you!

This article originally appeared on atune.com.au and was written by Katie Nancarrow.

What does Osteopathy address? Here are 4 key areas.

Osteopaths see the body as a whole system and osteopathic treatment is known as a holistic therapy as it uses a number of different methods to treat you as an individual and whole person. In this way osteopathic treatment aims to restore the balance between the different mechanisms and systems in your body.

Symptoms That Can Be Treated With Osteopathy Overview

Your GP may suggest that you see an osteopath if you suffer from chronic back pain or have a working environment that encourages bad posture (which could result in pain in the future). Some employers also encourage (or insist on) preventative osteopathic treatment for drivers or people that work at desks for long hours.

Due to the holistic and flexible nature of osteopathy, it can be used to treat a wide range of symptoms including joint pain, muscular pain, arthritis, problems caused by pregnancy or repetitive strain etc. Different osteopaths will include different methods in their treatments so different osteopathy clinics may be more suitable for your particular symptom.

Osteopathic Treatment Methods

Osteopaths use a mixture of massage, joint movement, touch and stretching in order to treat your symptoms. The exact nature of the treatment will be highly personalised and no two people will have exactly the same osteopathic regime. Osteopaths will often ask you to carry out exercises at home between visits and will offer advice on how to alter your posture or change your habits in order to help you reduce your pain. This advice can also act as a preventative if you work in an environment that might encourage symptoms such as chronic back pain. Osteopathy as a preventative measure is often used by people who drive for a living or people who play a lot of sport that acts to wear out the joints or puts a lot of pressure on their back.

A Brief History of Osteopathy

Dr Andrew Taylor Still founded osteopathy in the USA around 1874 although it is thought that the concurrent establishment of bone-setting that was occurring in London around the same time was a large influence. These early “osteopaths” (although the name didn’t come until later) treated all sorts of different illnesses and used spiritualism as well as a number of other alternative treatment methods that were popular at the time (including magnetism). Osteopathy developed when a Scottish doctor met with Dr Still and exchanged the teaching of anatomy with the teaching of osteopathy. This enhanced the practice of osteopathy allowing practitioners to tailor their treatments more to the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Doctors practicing osteopathy moved to the UK and set up the British School of Osteopathy in 1915. This has led to the high importance of anatomic teaching that currently lies at the heart of modern osteopathic training. So, it is important to note that osteopathy was developed by medical doctors, illustrating how its methods were developed from scientific and physiological teaching.

Due to the holistic nature of osteopathic treatment, osteopathy can provide health benefits to most people. Here are 4 key areas an Osteopath can help you with:

1. Pain and Injury

Soft tissue pain could include pain in any area of your body (such as back, neck, shoulders) as well as muscular pain (such as pain in your ham strings or biceps). In addition, osteopathy can be used to treat joint pain (such as pain in the knees or hips). Joint pain treated by osteopathy can include pain caused by an underlying disease such as arthritis.

Osteopathy can also be used to treat injury such as whiplash, sprains and strains and to encourage healing after fractures. Treatment for any sports injuries or injuries caused to the back due to heavy lifting are also commonly treated by osteopaths. Car accidents and falls from horses act to jolt your body and may leave you with misaligned areas of your bone and soft tissue. You osteopath will be able to feel these areas and use gentle movements to realign your body structure. This will alleviate you pain and enhance your body’s function.

2. Relaxation and Posture

Many patients find the treatment methods used by osteopaths to be highly relaxing. So, if you find yourself overly stressed and in need of relaxation, you might consider visiting an osteopath as a form of stress relief. The holistic nature of osteopathy means that your osteopath will probably advice you on how to improve your posture. You may even find that it is poor posture that is the source of your pain (and this is especially common for people who visit an osteopath complaining of back or hip pain). In this way, osteopathy is able to treat problems caused by as bad posture as well as help you to manage your lifestyle in order to prevent further problems that you could otherwise develop due to poor posture.

3. Pregnancy and Baby

If you are pregnant you may find that your posture has changed (due to the extra weight that you are carrying) and this change in posture may cause you to develop pain (often in your back or lower joints). You might want to consider visiting an osteopath who may be able to advice you on your posture in a way that prevents you from developing pain, or who could reduce any pain that you have already developed. In addition, many mothers opt to have osteopathic treatment with their new born baby in order to treat any conditions/problems that may have arisen during birth. Mother and baby osteopathy can treat anything from conditions associated with periods of oxygen deprivation during birth to a simple requirement for relaxation and bonding after birth (which is a fairly traumatic experience for both mother and baby even if it goes well)!

4. Energy, Healing and Long Term Illnesses

Osteopathic treatment should be considered if you find that you have low energy levels, have trouble relaxing or problems sleeping. Many people find that they feel more alert and have higher energy levels whilst they are undertaking osteopathic treatment. This is due to the fact that osteopathy will enhance the efficiency of your whole body (by improving the blood flow, lymphatic system and nervous system). The increase in the efficiency of your lymphatic system will increase your healing speed and thus reduce the likelihood of succumbing to infection or illness. This coupled with the relaxing effect of osteopathy means that you might want to consider osteopathic treatment if you suffer with insomnia. The digestive system will also benefit from the restoration of balance between your body’s systems, so digestive disorders can also be treated by an osteopath.

Due to the beneficial effect on the body as a whole, patients will long term illnesses or injuries are often relieved by osteopathic treatment. If you are asthmatic, diabetic or suffer from any other chronic illness or disease you may find that osteopathic treatment can reduce the severity of your symptoms by enhancing your body’s own ability to heal.

This article originally appeared on healthcentre.org.uk and omwc.ca

Approach to Low Back Pain – Osteopathy

Case

A man aged 42 years, who works as a police officer, presented with severe lower back pain, which he had experienced for 24 hours after spending the previous day helping his brother to move house. He had difficulty ambulating and most movements aggravated the pain. There were no lower limb symptoms and no red flags present on history or examination. He was otherwise well and was not taking any regular medications.

Osteopaths are registered health professionals who work mainly in private clinics and manage various musculoskeletal complaints.1 ..with major studies in anatomy, physiology, pathology, research methods, and osteopathic philosophy and technique. There are similarities with other manual therapies, such as chiropractic and manipulative physiotherapy, but the differences in underlying philosophy, approach to diagnosis, and frequency and duration of consultations provide distinctive practice styles to each discipline.

Osteopathic approach and philosophy

The osteopathic approach to patient care is characterised by holism and places emphasis on the reciprocal relationship between anatomical and physiological structures. The holistic approach also acknowledges psychosocial, environmental and ergonomic factors2 that influence pain and disability. To reach a diagnosis, osteopaths assess symptomatic tissues and other related areas of the body that may influence optimal biomechanical function. Treatment includes manual techniques and patient education.

Research and osteopathy

Although there is a paucity of high-quality research investigating the effectiveness of osteopathic management for many conditions, limited but growing evidence offers support for treatment of low back pain (LBP).3–7 Isolated manual techniques, such as spinal manipulation, have been most thoroughly examined by researchers, but seem to have only a modest benefit for LBP.8 An integrated treatment approach using an eclectic set of manual techniques and advice – as commonly used in osteopathic practice – may be of greater benefit in LBP and a number of randomised controlled trials (RCT) have found improvements in LBP after osteopathic treatment.3–7 Recent RCTs reported that osteopathic treatment was more effective than placebo for chronic LBP interventions,5 more effective than usual medical care for acute LBP,3 and helpful for LBP in pregnant women.4

Initial assessment

Initial osteopathic consultations are up to 60 minutes in duration. The consultation includes obtaining a case history and other relevant medical and health information,9 assessment of red flags10 and gaining patient consent for treatment. If a red flag is identified, patients are immediately referred to their GP for assessment, and in more urgent cases (eg. cauda equina syndrome) referred directly to hospital emergency units. The patient completes a self-report pain questionnaire (eg. visual analogue pain scale) and assessment of changes in activities of daily living (ADLs) to assess pain and functional disability.

The information provided in this case scenario suggests differential diagnoses of lumbar facet joint sprain, lumbar disc pathology or sacroiliac joint (SIJ) sprain. The osteopathic physical examination is informed by the case history and aims to support or exclude differential diagnoses.

Physical examination for the case presented

A physical examination would include the following:

• observation of standing posture
• active and passive range of motion of lumbopelvic, hip and thoracic regions
• occupation and ADL-oriented functional movement testing
• assessment of lumbar and thoracic segmental mobility and tenderness
• palpation of lumbar spine, abdomen and hip soft tissues
• orthopedic tests, including straight leg raise, active straight leg raise test and SIJ pain provocation tests.

Management strategies

Immediate (at initial presentation as stated in the case scenario)

For the case presented here, the osteopath would address restricted and painful areas identified in the examination. Treatment may involve mobilisation or articulation of lumbar and thoracic facet joints, soft tissue massage and stretching of lumbar and hip musculature, and the use of gentle isometric contraction techniques (‘muscle energy’) to encourage better motion, muscle recruitment and decrease pain.11,12 Gentle application of spinal manipulation may be used for the lumbar and/or thoracic spine,13 but suspected intervertebral disc pathology would be a contraindication. The patient would be advised to consult their general practitioner (GP) or pharmacist for appropriate short-term pain relief medications and advised to keep moving within pain limits.

An advantage of the osteopathic consultation is the time available to educate patients and discuss concerns. In this case, the osteopath would explain the likely cause and prognosis, and offer reassurance to the patient that nothing serious was evident, that most acute back pain resolves without the need for ongoing treatment or surgery, and that the patient should aim to be active and return to work as soon as possible.14 The osteopath would discuss sick leave for 2–3 days and schedule a review consultation.

Short term (days to weeks)

Some improvement in symptoms would be expected due to the natural history of acute musculoskeletal conditions. Further manual therapy would be provided, advice given on ADLs, and approaches to return to work within a short period of time would be encouraged. Recommendations for alternative work duties may also be appropriate.

Medium term (up to 6 months)

It is unlikely that this patient would need treatment for more than a few weeks. In the case of other factors being present (ie. yellow, black or blue flags) or re-injury, treatment may include manual therapy, the focus being directed towards active treatment approaches, such as rehabilitation exercises. The implementation of additional outcome measures may be helpful for identification of patients requiring psychological intervention.

Long term (years, including prevention and maintenance strategies)

It is highly unlikely that the patient in this case would require long-term osteopathic treatment. Osteopaths encourage patients to invest time and effort into keeping muscles strong and joints mobile, either though occasional osteopathic manual treatment, ergonomic awareness, their own exercise and rehabilitation program, or a combination of all.

Conflict of interests: None
Provenance and peer reviewed: Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

References

1. Burke SR, Myers R, Zhang AL. A profile of osteopathic practice in Australia 2010–2011: a cross sectional survey. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2013;14:227. Search PubMed
2. Fryer G. Special issue: Osteopathic principles. Int J Osteopath Med 2013;16:1–2. Search PubMed
3. Cruser dA, Maurer D, Hensel K, Brown SK, White K, Stoll ST. A randomized, controlled trial of osteopathic manipulative treatment for acute low back pain in active duty military personnel. J Man Manip Ther 2012;20:5–15. Search PubMed
4. Licciardone JC, Buchanan S, Hensel KL, King HH, Fulda KG, Stoll ST. Osteopathic manipulative treatment of back pain and related symptoms during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010;202:43–48. Search PubMed
5. Licciardone JC, Minotti DE, Gatchel RJ, Kearns CM, Singh KP. Osteopathic manual treatment and ultrasound therapy for chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Fam Med 2013;11:122–29. Search PubMed
6. Vismara L, Cimolin V, Menegoni F, et al. Osteopathic manipulative treatment in obese patients with chronic low back pain: a pilot study. Man Ther 2012;17:451–55. Search PubMed
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8. Rubinstein SM, van Middelkoop M, Assendelft WJ, de Boer MR, van Tulder MW. Spinal manipulative therapy for chronic low-back pain: an update of a Cochrane review. Spine 2011;36:E825–46. Search PubMed
9. Orrock P. Profile of members of the Australian Osteopathic Association: Part 1 - The practitioners. Int J Osteopath Med 2009;12:14–24. Search PubMed
10. Downie A, Williams CM, Henschke N, et al. Red flags to screen for malignancy and fracture in patients with low back pain: systematic review. BMJ 2013;347. Search PubMed
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13. de Oliveira RF, Liebano RE, Costa LdCM, Rissato LL, Costa LOP. Immediate effects of region-specific and non-region-specific spinal manipulative therapy in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Physical Therapy 2013;93:748–56. Search PubMed
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This article originally appeared on racgp.org.au and was written by Brett Vaughan, Tracy Morrison, Della Buttigieg, Chris Macfarlane and Gary Fryer.

How Osteopathic Manual Therapy Relieves Arthritic Pain

As Osteopaths we spend a vast amount of time dealing with pain and suffering caused by arthritis. Many people mistakenly assume that they must learn to live with their symptoms. In many cases,  Osteopaths are able to help considerably. Pain relief and lifestyle management improve the quality of life for arthritis sufferers.  With Arthritis Awareness Week 17 – 23 March, we look at how Osteopathy can help Arthritis.

What Is Arthritis?

Arthritis can been divided into two types – degenerative and inflammatory. Degenerative arthritis or osteoarthritis, is very common and is often referred to as general ‘wear and tear’. It is usually experienced in the neck, low back, fingers, hips and knees. Typical symptoms include joint swelling, pain and stiffness.

Inflammatory arthritis, such as Rheumatoid arthritis, is far less common but can affect people at a younger age and the symptoms are usually more severe. These types are more systemic and affect the whole body.

Osteoarthritis is a very mis-understood condition. Many people believe that it cannot affect you until you are much older. The truth is that ‘wear and tear’ can affect your joints as early as your late 20s. Factors such as a poor posture, bad lifting technique, lack of exercise and an accumulation of old injuries can predispose to early osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of Arthritis

Arthritis may be hereditary but is generally caused by poor posture, heavy manual work and previous injury. Osteopathy is an effective way to manage arthritis and the associated symptoms:

• Neck Pain
• Low back pain
• Hip/Knee Pain
• Early morning stiffness
• Joint Pain
• Swelling and Inflamation
• Referred muscle pain
• Lack of mobility

How can Osteopathy help?

There is no cure for arthritis however osteopathic treatment can do a great deal to reduce pain, ease swelling and improve mobility and range of joint movement. Management focuses on eliminating symptoms through early diagnosis and improving lifestyle to prevent further degeneration.

Osteopathic treatment involves gentle manual osteopathic techniques on joints, muscles and ligaments. This may involve gentle stretching, mobility, and traction techniques. Exercises to do at home may also be prescribed to improve joint function and to reduce muscle spasm. Exercise in warm water or salt baths may also be recommended.

This article originally appeared on staytuned.com.au and was written by Dr. Boris Lukin