There are many ways that Osteopaths can support your needs.
Osteopaths are passionate about maximising the function of your body and
providing you with the skills and knowledge to maintain your own health.
Did you know?
Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your
bloodstream and makes up just 2% of your body mass.
It is important to have a well-functioning diaphragm to maximise oxygen
intake, with minimal effort. When your diaphragm is dysfunctional then your
body starts to rely on its accessory breathing muscles (in the side and front
of the neck) to do more work that can cause muscle tightness and pain in the
upper back, across the shoulders and neck. Osteopaths can improve
breathing pattern disorders to have you breathing easy again.
Sneezes can clock up to 160 km/hr and coughing up to
95 km/hr.
Single or repeated sneezing or coughing can result in painful ribs or a sore
back or neck. We become most susceptible in times of poor posture,
fatigue or when affected by colds and flu. Osteopaths can restore your rib and
breathing function, which can improve your posture, energy and accelerate your
recovery from colds or flu.
Babies are born with 300 bones and by adulthood we
have 206.
This is because many of the bones in children are not fused yet. In fact, the
bones of the skull never actually fuse. The movement between the skull
bones makes it easier for a baby can pass through the birth canal. The
birth experience can leave many babies in pain or stressed causing flat spots
or misshapen heads, colic, reflux, restlessness and problems with sleeping or
feeding. Osteopaths treat babies using light and gentle techniques to relieve
the tension and stress on their bodies to relax their systems so that they
function optimally.
We are around 1cm taller in the morning than in the
evening.
This is due to the compression of the cartilage between our bones that comes
with standing, sitting and other activities throughout the day. This is a
great reason to keep moving throughout the day and also regularly perform
stretches. Osteopaths can advise you on an individualised stretching program
that you can perform at home.
You use around 200 muscles in one single step…more
than your leg muscles.
Walking is a complex set of movements involving all of the foot, leg, gluteal
and hip muscles to propel you forward and dozens more that help to stabilise
you and keep you balanced and upright while you take those steps. These include
all of your core muscles, the postural muscles of your back and also your neck
that keeps your head in the correct position. Often we see how a small problem
with one or two muscles can completely alter your gait or walking pattern, and
we go to work to resolve this and restore your function.
25% of our bones are in our hands and feet.
These areas are often overworked, neglected and often overlooked.
Osteopaths treat many conditions of the hands and feet including Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome, plantar fasciitis, sporting injuries of the feet, ankle sprains, torn
ligaments and muscles.
The longest muscle in the human body is the Sartorius.
This narrow muscle of the thigh passes down and across the front of the thigh
to help rotate the leg to a cross-legged seated position. It was known as
the tailor’s muscle due to the traditional cross-legged seated position of
tailors at work.
Injuries like whiplash significantly effect the neck and put strain on spinal ligaments.
Longitudinal ligaments of spine run all the way from occiput (base of the
skull) down to the sacrum (base of the spine). This means that a neck injury
like a whiplash can disrupt the lower back and other areas of the body.
Osteopaths believe that every part interacts together and treat the
body in a holistic way, often addressing issues distant to the site of your
injury or pain.
The largest muscle in the human body is the Gluteus
Maximus.
Due to increasing sedentary lifestyles, most of us are sitting on these muscles
more than using them correctly. This can lead to weakness in the gluteal
muscles and imbalances of the pelvic and lower back muscles that can cause pain
in these regions. Your
Osteopath can devise a personalised exercise plan to
strengthen these important muscles.
It takes twice as long to lose new muscle than it did to gain it.
That’s a little motivation to keep moving and exercising in these cold winter
months, so keep moving and keep your muscle tone, strength and stability to
reduce your chance of injury and pain. Osteopaths routinely provide
advice on what type of exercise would be most appropriate for you or your own
personal stretching program.
More
Information
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Further
Questions?
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further questions, we recommend speaking to a healthcare professional.
Use Whitecoat.com.au to easily find an
appropriate healthcare provider near you.
Sourced from Head To Toe Health
01 Jun 2016