Function and Functional Osteopathic Clinic
Wow…Did you know that…….?
Back to Back – The Earlsfield Osteopath has the greatest number of osteopathic practitioners that have completed the unique and prestigious GIFT programme in the USA. Neil, has also enrolled to do this in 2016!
What does ‘Functional Osteopathy’ mean and how can it benefit our patients?
Functional osteopathy involves a new way of assessment and treatment. It uniquely combines Osteopathy with Applied Functional Science (AFS). AFS uses chain reaction biomechanics and is based on the principles of functional movement. Instead of looking at isolated areas of the body, AFS realises that everything is connected and integrated. For example, it can explain how a lack of ankle motion can affect the hip, lower back, neck or shoulder. Hands on osteopathic therapy is used. However, assessment is based around what you do in real life. There are no artificial testing methods such as touching your toes if it doesn’t relate to the way you move naturally. Treatment often occurs in upright functional positions. This enables treatment to directly translate back to improving your movement in everyday life. Treatment is unique to your ability, function and goals and will not be the same as the client before or after you. This treatment approach gives the body access to parts it has not been able to use and teaches it how to move better. The power of combining Osteopathy and Applied Functional Science is in utilising the body’s natural moving state.
Lying someone on their side and asking them to lift up their leg in not ‘functional’ to work the glut muscle and it does not get them more successful at walking, dancing, running or jumping. Asking someone to stand with a leg forward and to reach in a particular way becomes a better way to improve glut function and is closer to what we all do everyday. We all need to function in an energy efficient manner, but ideally in a pain free way. When our bodies are in pain, most often it changes the way we move and go about our daily lives.
The ‘functional’ way works fantastically well with elite athletes and performance enhancement, but also is brilliant at treating everyday injures, such as back or neck pain, hip, knee and foot pain or shoulder and elbow pain.
A combination of Osteopathic methods and AFS is used for treatment and in the rehabilitation of injuries.
When assessing a patient, we are really trying to see WHY something has happened and not the fact that it has happened. This enables us to go faster to the route of the problem.
We feel that creating great function enhances our health and well-being and is a remarkable way of encompassing movement into an integrated way and not an isolated way.
If you would like to see one of our ‘Functional Osteopathic’ practitioners, book in to see James, Annie or Steph. reception can be contacted on 020 8605 2323.
Blog post by James Dodd