This site is a practical resource for understanding head injury, symptoms, & treatment to educate and empower patients. Put very simply, osteopathy - is a manual therapy on a manual cause (trauma to the head). Osteopathy attempts to manually put things back where they were, restoring balance within the head. Anyone suffering from post traumatic headaches understand that there are parts that feel '
out of whack'. Persistent post traumatic headache is considered unresolved trauma within the head, but which can affect the rest of the body. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER OSTEOPATHY? Well, if you have headaches after a head injury, and not much has worked for you, you are probably already motivated to try something else. But if you didn't know, not all osteopathic manual practitioners are trained the same. Prior to making an appointment you may want to ask the practitioner whether they have specific training in treating the brain after injury.... and not just the bony parts of head, (although that kind of treatment may get you half way there), there are very specific treatments for the brain itself within the skull, which are post-graduate courses are require additional skill. Almost all patients can feel direct relief when structures are put back and the tensions on the membranes are relieved. By treatment 3 or 4 you as a patient should have a very good idea whether the practitioner understands your injury and can help your body do something about it. Firstly, there is scientific evidence to support manual therapy for headaches, specifically, tension-type headaches. Secondly, In treating the patient’s body as a whole, functional unit, osteopathy provides for the effects of TBI and tension headache which may extend beyond the cranium. Thirdly, Osteopathy is one of very few manual therapeutic approaches that can work directly on the traumatic brain injury. Osteopathic manual practitioners rely greatly on the ability to palpate; listen to soft tissues; and receive information on changes in mobility, tone, motility or functioning of tendons, connective tissue, joint capsules, synovial membranes, arteries, veins and nerves that may be missed by conventional diagnosis. The terms lesions and restrictions are used significantly in the osteopathic profession, and practitioners release these in efforts to restore function. Palpation is an essential learned skill and osteopathic diagnostic tool which includes precise palpatory training. The practitioner is, in turn, able to sense disturbances within the cranium and becomes attuned to reasonable corrections appropriate for the patient. Lastly, osteopathy works together with conventional diagnosis (together with your usual doctors). Osteopathic practitioners do not go and change your prescriptions but after some improvement may recommend that you consult with your doctor or naturopath regarding reassessing your medication usage. Close to half a million people live with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Ontario, and TBI is significantly more prevalent than breast cancer, spinal cord injury and HIV/AIDS combined. Did you know that TBI can lead to a number of long-term neurological issues if left untreated? Although medications are good for a number of things including pain reduction, if your body is having a difficult time adjusting to an injury over a period of time, it is wise to seek treatment to fix it instead of masking the pain using medication. After all, pain is a good thing, because it tells us when there's a concern.
