Enhance Osteopathy Heidelberg | Osteopath Clinic

What is
Osteopathy

Osteopathy was developed in America in the 1870's by Dr Andrew Taylor Still and it is now widely recognised with osteopaths working in many countries throughout the world.
Osteopathy is a manual medicine & our osteopathic practitioners at Enhance Osteopathy in Heidelberg use hands-on techniques to try to help you heal.
Osteopaths study at university for five years in courses such as anatomy, physiology, pathology and other biomedical sciences.
Overall osteopathy is based on the idea that if the body's tissues are in the right anatomical position they will be better able to heal themselves. It is a biomechanical model of health care.

An osteopath looks at the whole body. All the strains & stresses you have experienced over a life time may contribute to your pain today. If you are not moving well and you are close to Heidelberg in the northern suburbs of Melbourne you may need an osteopath help to get better.

At Enhance Osteopathy Heidelberg our local osteopaths genuinely care about your health
We are a long running and well respected osteopath clinic
We are located a short walk from Burgundy street in Heidelberg and have easy access with onsite parking and public transport nearby
Our osteopaths have over 40 years of combined clinical experience
Our osteopaths are dedicated, experienced and committed to getting you better as quickly as possible
All of our osteopaths regularly update their knowledge via postgraduate courses
Our Heidelberg clinic rooms are heated and air-conditioned, have great natural light and are wheelchair accessible
Established as an osteopathy clinic for over 25 years we have a long history of caring for our community
Our osteopaths ensure a full hour is given to any new patient so they can get to know you and your health history without any shortcuts
Our osteopaths offer a variety of osteopathic techniques, from very light to more firm, depending on your needs
Our osteopaths also do their utmost to make you feel comfortable at all times and encourage you to ask questions and give feedback during your treatment

What can I see an osteopath for?

Being an osteopath means seeing people for a very wide range of conditions. Primarily people seek out an osteopath when they want a musculoskeletal injury or dysfunction worked out, but your average osteopath can help with much more than just a sore back or sporting injuries. A normal osteopathic treatment will encompass much more than just much more than looking at just your muscles and joints.

Yes an osteopath is highly skilled in treating injuries, especially headaches, neck pain, back pain, including sciatica, and sports injuries, however we also use an osteopathic treatment to give an osteo's perspective on things like help with breathing, functional movement and long term health problems.

As an osteopath you learn to work on all tissues in the body, not just muscles and joints. We have techniques for your:

lymphatic system,
circulatory system and
your organs.

This may not seem relevant for your average footy injury or other sports injuries, however impacting blood flow when something is swollen for example, may be really useful!

Our osteopathic clinic is also particularly well known for cranial osteopathy. We have two very experienced cranial osteopaths for treatment of all your head related injuries.

Being an osteopath means caring for the whole person and this includes taking emotions into account too. This is why you will find the osteopaths at Enhance Osteopathy Heidelberg very considerate and compassionate at all times during your treatment.

If, after reading our "what do osteopaths treat" pages (which detail common conditions that osteopaths treat) you still have questions, feel free to call and ask one of our osteopaths to have a chat. I'm sure we'll be able to figure out if osteopathy can help you.

Paediatric Osteopathy

Yes, our osteopaths treat babies! At Enhance Osteopathy Heidelberg we also love treating kids. Many of our patients use osteo for their kids. As children are not just little adults you really need an osteopath who has trained in paediatric osteopathy.

A registered osteopath can treat children of any age, from newborn babies through to older children, however it is best to go with an osteopath who has done post graduate courses in paediatric osteopathy. As you can imagine the treatment process for babies is very different to adults so if you have any questions about the treatment and care of your little one you can arrange a chat with an osteopath at our Heidelberg clinic who will be happy to answer all your queries.

You can read more about paediatric osteopathy for children and babies here.

What will my first osteopathic treatment involve?

When you come for your first osteopathic treatment at Enhance Osteopathy's Heidelberg clinic your osteopath will take a very thorough health history. Because osteopaths look at the whole body we want to know your full medical history. This will include many details you may not have thought to be relevant to an osteo consult! For example, your osteopath will want details of all your surgical, medical and injury history...over a lifetime. Your osteopath will also ask about any medications or natural supplements you take.

Your osteopath will also ask very detailed questions about your pain. For example if you have had a sports injury your osteopath will want to know how it happened, when it happened, if you have ever had this type of pain before, how often it has occurred and how bad the pain is out of ten.

Your osteopath will also ask about the quality of your pain and this is something many people have never thought about before seeing an osteo.

So what do we mean by quality of pain? Your osteopath will ask if it is:

aching, burning, dull or sharp for example
pinpoint or more diffuse
deep in a joint or more superficial etc.

This will help the osteopath determine what particular tissue in your body is causing your pain. The more details we can get the better our list of potential diagnoses will be.

Your osteopath will then ask a series of screening questions about your general health. These cover all the systems of the body, such as your gastrointestinal and nervous systems. You may be amazed to discover how much these systems can refer to other areas of the body or impact the health of your musculoskeletal system in general. These questions are also designed to keep your osteopathic treatment as safe as possible and alert your osteopath to any problems that may require referral to a GP or medical specialist.

Finally your osteopath will take you through a series of tests to narrow down the diagnosis. This may involve:

orthopaedic movement based tests
neurological testing
respiratory exams etc. and
range of movement or strength testing.

Once the osteopath has a good idea of what the problem is and has ruled out any red flags that require referral they will explain what they think requires treatment and what this treatment will involve and will ask for your consent to continue.

Osteopaths use hands on techniques to treat their patients. This may include massage of soft tissues, resisted stretches, mobilisation of joints, work on the connective tissues and ligaments or visceral (organ) techniques or cranial osteopathy. If at any time you have questions during the treatment our osteopaths at Enhance Osteopathy Heidelberg will be happy to explain the process.

So there it is in a nutshell! If you would like to see one of our Heidelberg osteos simply click online bookings and get your journey to better health started today!

Our Osteopaths at 113 Cape St, Heidelberg: Click to find out more about our experienced and dedicated osteopaths.