Prevention and osteopathy

Why do I have to see my osteopath even if everything is fine?

Osteopathy is now known for its interest in the management of pain in the musculoskeletal system. Scientific publications are increasingly confirming it. Its effectiveness for many disorders, digestive, urinary, gynaecological, respiratory, etc. or for migraines, headaches, ENT disorders, is increasingly recognized. Nevertheless, its interest in the prevention of disorders of the state of health is less known.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), primary prevention is all “actions to reduce the frequency of an illness or health problem in a healthy population, by reducing the causes and risk factors. The incidence corresponds to the appearance of new cases.”

Prevention therefore aims to promote the maintenance of people in good health. We are all carriers of somatic dysfunctions, defined as an “alteration of the mobility, viscoelasticity or texture of the components of the somatic system” which “is accompanied or not by a painful sensitivity”.

The origin of our traumas

Throughout our lives, our body undergoes many traumas that can be of order:

All these examples, not exhaustive, allow us to realize what our body undergoes daily without us noticing. All these traumas will affect our body. They will create what we call lesions: joint blockage, muscle or tissue tension. It will result in a loss of mobility of the different structures that you will feel by pain, genes, etc.

The body’s capacity for self-healing

The symptoms do not occur when the body is able to adapt and compensate for the disruptive nature of these somatic dysfunctions. Fortunately, our body is able to adapt to external constraints. To defend himself against the aggression, he will use a special position to compensate for injuries caused by the trauma. Therefore, neighbouring structures will take over so you can continue your normal activities. Then, the body will gradually return to its original mechanism, to find physiological movements. It is the body’s capacity for self-healing.

But sometimes, it needs help…

However, their number and/or quality, their age, a context of fatigue or stress, an intercurrent pathology can affect the ability of the body to adapt. It will promote the appearance of disorders related to these somatic dysfunctions.

If your body is not in the best conditions to protect itself, it will not be able to correct itself. So, it will remain in the adaptation phase which is not physiological. This phenomenon will be accentuated if the trauma is too strong or prolonged. It is at this point that the symptoms appear and persist over time. In this case, you think you might consult your osteopath. Indeed, he will help your body to release tensions to find its pattern of operation “normal”. Acute and chronic pain is often caused by the accumulation of adaptations that your body could not release.

How will your osteopath help your body to get better?

Neutralizing or eliminating somatic dysfunctions prior to their manifestation in the form of disruption of health status is therefore a prevention issue.

The interest of this preventive approach is now well known in paediatrics. A majority of parents entrust their baby from the first weeks of life to the osteopath so that any dysfunction related to the conditions of pregnancy or birth, sometimes unnoticed, can be quickly treated.

Good prevention in osteopathy is desirable for many categories of patients. It is of particular interest to subjects who are more likely, because of their medical history, their constitution or their environment, to be exposed to disturbances in their state of health that could be avoided or limited by preventive osteopathic care.

Everyone should consult an osteopath!

During your consultation your therapeuthe will be able to define with you the sessions’ rhythm should be done. The rhythm depends on patient and his history. Some patients will only see their osteopath once or twice a year when others will see it more often! We are all different and the rhythms of the sessions too in order to answer at best to your needs.