Pain is usually the reason for adults to visit. The correct functioning of the spine is necessary to enjoy good health. Cervical contracture, low back pain and sciatica are good examples to show how osteopathy works.
Small physical discomforts are usually warnings signals fromour body and if they are treated in time we can prevent injuries or even more serious pathologies.
When is it advisable to visit the osteopath?
- Once a year for prevention.
- Low back pain, sciatica, herniated disc, cervical contracture
- Tendonitis, osteoarthritis, joint or muscle pain.
- After trauma, accidents, operations …
- Headache, migraine, instability, vertigo.
- Neuralgias (N. Trigémino, N. Arnold).
- Menstrual pain, amenorrhea … gynecological problems.
- Digestive, respiratory problems …
- Fertility, pregnancy, postpartum.
Osteopathy and cervical contracture
It is one of the main reasons for consultation q young students, adults who work long hours in front of a computer and elderly people. It’s also very common among people with a history of whiplash accidents.
It manifests itselfas intense pain and stiffness in the cervical region. It is often accompanied by headache, and feelings such as dizziness, steadiness, or tingling.
Sometimes the stiffness does not reach the degree of a contracturebut the patient has a perception of sustainedtension in the cervical region that usually radiatesto the lower part of the head (occipital). It usually worsens with movement and with prolonged static working positions.
Osteopathic treatment will take into account the entire body of the patient and not only the painful area.
Blockages at any point in the spine, pelvis, diaphragm, or shoulder girdle can be the cause of these contractures. If we treat the cervicals but we do not improve the whole system, the contractures will most likely return soon.
Osteopathy and sciatica
Sciatica is acute pain caused by compression of the sciatic nerve at some point along its path. This results in pain that descends from the lower back to a lower limb through the buttock, the back of the thigh and often reaches the foot.
Depending on the degree of compression and the point at which it occurs, the intensity and location of the pain may vary.
The use of analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs at first may be recommended, but osteopathic treatment is essential to normalize the situation. The structure must be rebalanced as soon as possible to allow decompression of the nerve. In most cases, a couple of osteopathic sessions greatly reduce the symptoms. Others might be more complicated due to the presence of a slipped disc.
Osteopathy and slipped-discs
The intervertebral disc is a fibrous ring of cartilage, very dense and resistant to compression forces. At its core we find a nucleus pulposus, a kind of gelatin that acts as a buffer
The slipped (or herniated) discis caused by the fissure or rupture of the disc and the displacement of part of the material of the nucleus towards the periphery. This displacement can cause compression of a nerve root in the hole through which the nerve leaves the spinal cord. It is then when it can provoke a wide range of symptomatology: sciatica, cruralgia, cervicobrachial neuralgia.
For biomechanical reasons, herniated discs usually occur between the cervical and lower lumbar vertebrae.
Symptoms such as lumbar contractures, repeated acute low back pain or chronic low back pain are warnings of dysfunctionsin this region. The slipped disc can occur suddenly by exertion, but always in the context of previous deterioration of the disc. It is always better to put yourself in the hands of an osteopath to treat a dysfunction before it develops into an injury. Prevention is essential.
When the slippeddisc has already occurred, the osteopath will also work with the entire body to reverse the biomechanical imbalance that has led to this injury. It will also performa local treatment to release the pinched nerve, which is sometimes very effective, but always bearingin mind that we are no longer in the field of dysfunction but in the field of injury and the recovery process may be slower.