Massage Therapy
Massage therapy consists primarily of hands-on manipulation of the soft tissues of the body, specifically, the muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and joints for the purpose of optimizing health.
Massage therapy treatment has a therapeutic effect on the body and optimizes health and well-being by acting on the muscular, nervous and circulatory systems. Physical function can be developed, maintained and improved; and physical dysfunction and pain and the effects of stress can be relieved or prevented through the use of Massage Therapy.
Modern massage techniques can be traced back to the 1700?s and the development of Swedish massage, the first systematic method of therapeutic massage based on physiology. Today’s Massage Therapists use their knowledge of anatomy and physiology to combine traditional Swedish and modern Massage Therapy techniques with exercise and other therapies to treat their clients.
Source: College of Massage Therapists of Ontario
Osteopathy
“Osteopathy is the knowledge of the structure, relation and function of each part of the human body applied to the correction of whatever interferes with its harmonious operation.”
– George V. Webster, D.O., 1921
In Ontario, Osteopathic Manual Practitioners maintain, improve or restore the normal physiological function of interrelated body structures and systems, and, enhance the body’s natural ability to health itself. They use various manual assessment and treatment techniques and modalities to help people of all ages and backgrounds who suffer injury, pain or other health concerns by easing the pain, reducing swelling, improving tissue mobility and promoting efficient healing. Restricted or constricted areas of the body – areas which are not moving normally or are “strangled” or “squeezed” may exist in the following systems:
- musculoskeletal
- respiratory
- cardiovascular
- digestive
- reproductive
- nervous
Osteopathic Manual Practitioners seek to identify and then gently ease the restrictions or constrictions so the body can function normally again.
Manual osteopathy is based on 4 basic principles:
- Each structure in the body supports the body’s functions. If a structure is damaged, out of place, or otherwise not working properly, the body will not function at its best.
- The natural flow of the body’s fluids – lymphatic, vascular, and neurological – must be preserved and maintained.
- The human body is the sum of its parts. Its physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and cognitive systems don’t work independently -they work in harmony.
- When the body has no restrictions, it has the inherent ability to heal itself.
Osteopathic Manual Practitioners recognize that a patient is an integrated whole. When all of the body’s components are in balance, a person is complete and in total health.
Source: Ontario Association of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners
