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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Do osteopaths only treat bones?

    Related Topics
    Osteoarthritis Osteoporosis & Bone Health Rheumatology
    I know that osteopaths can help treat osteoporosis and osteoarthritis… so do they specialise in treating bone related ailments?
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    Dr Alison Gault

    Osteopath

    My interest in womens health developed during my years of practice as an Osteopath. This lead me to develop BumpStuff, a website specialising in expert … View Profile

    The name ‘Osteopath’ is somewhat misleading. Osteopaths don't treat the actual bones themselves as the name implies.  Rather, as hands-on practitioners we treat a large range of conditions and areas of the body surrounding the bones such as the joints, muscles and ligaments.  The most common conditions that I treated in practice were headaches, upper and low back pain, office shoulders and pelvic pain.  Basically any part of the musclar or skeletal system that is strained, overworked, tight or dysfunctional may be aided by osteopathic treatment. 
    As far as treating Osteoporosis is concerned, an Osteopath may be able to assist someone with associated symptoms such as muscle tightness but will not be able to treat the disease directly.  Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone that is diagnosed through X-ray and will be managed primarily by your GP.  Your GP may refer you to other specialists if deemed neccisary. 

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    Dr James Gillard

    Osteopath

    James is passionate about osteopathy, it’s philosophy and works with facilitating the bodies innate drive for health and balance. He enjoys teaching patients about how … View Profile

    Osteopath - The literal translation is 'Bone Suffering'.

    As mentioned not the ideal name for the profession, however some of the reasoning behind it I beleive was that ligaments, tendons and connective tissue attach to the bone and so the bones are used a vechiles to remove any obstruction the body has in returning to health/ homeostasis/ balance etc.

    Intially osteopathy was used to treat the vast majority of medical complaints. Now medicine has come on in leaps and bounds since the 1800's and whilst at this stage their isn't the scientific literature to support it, osteopathic treatment can have effects on multiple systems.

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