
Osteopathy is a form of manual therapy that utilizes the body's natural ability to self-heal and self-regulate. The body is treated as a dynamic unit of function, and the treatment is aimed at finding the root cause of the pain or discomfort, as opposed to treating the symptoms. Osteopathy is completely about anatomy and physiology of the human body and how the two are interrelated. Since these are the guiding principles of Osteopathy, every treatment is therefore uniquely tailored to the patient.
One of the main principles of Osteopathy is: structure determines function. This means that if structure(s) are restricted within the body, this can cause issues with the physiology and manifest symptoms (such as pain, digestive issues, fatigue, etc). We do not say "Osteopathy treats ____". We treat the body as a whole; a dynamic unit of function. In treating the anatomy of the body, we make a change in the physiology. This is how we can confidently say we treat the root cause, and not the symptoms.
Billing insurance for a service that was not rendered is insurance fraud. Even if the practitioner is a Massage Therapist or Physiotherapist, the billed service must be the service that was given. There are serious consequences to this, such as losing Association status, fines, or even jail time depending on the situation.
Every treatment is unique to the patient - and so is the amount of time between bookings. This is completely dependent on what the patient requires. Some patients can come every few months for maintence, some every other week, and others I may need to see more than once a week. It all depends on what the patient needs at that point in time.
Osteopathy is completely different than chiropractics, massage and phyiotherapy. Osteopathy recognizes the body as a dynamic unit of function. It acknowledges that each structure interacts with other structures and therefore effects the whole body through it's connections. Since there is a change in structure, there must be a change in physiology (structure determines function). Osteopathy is about the connections throughout the body and therefore allows the practitioner to find the root cause of discomfort or pain.