Author: The Stance Integrated Pain and Spine Clinic, Koramangala, Bangalore Date: 2020-11-01

OSTEOPATHIC SPINE CARE

Throughout the world, chronic pain patients are being treated by many disciplines. For example, the patient may simultaneously be treated by not only a medical physician but also a physical therapist, an alternative medicine practitioner, and a clinical psychologist.

Some settings are fortunate enough to have many disciplines under one roof, but that’s not possible to have a dedicated pain management team specialized in multiple disciplines to help patients recover faster.

Regardless of whether the patient is treated at single or multiple sites, it is important to know the strengths and capabilities of each profession and discipline.

Integrated Pain and Spine Clinic have the unique capability to medically prescribe plus provide traditional Osteopathic Manual Medicine treatments like OMT manipulative therapy and other treatments like OMT Spine Analysis and other diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to help a patient suffering from chronic spine and other musculoskeletal pain.

Chronic pain, one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care has been linked to restrictions in mobility and daily activities, dependence on opioids, anxiety, and depression, and poor perceived health or reduced quality of life.

As per the report claims, manual osteopathy should focus on treating the pattern of the musculoskeletal disease which means it is of great importance to actually understand the actual trigger which is causing pain at one particular point.

If the pain is present for more than 3 months and is non-responsive to normal treatments like quick adjustments, pain medicines, or exercises alone, OMT treatments should be able to offer a solution to help reduce the pain and discomfort.

OSTEOPATHIC PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

OMT is the hands-on use of force in response to somatic dysfunction in the body. The goal of OMT is to correct, remove, or improve somatic dysfunction thereby allowing for the body’s self-healing, self-regulating (i.e., homeostatic) mechanisms to become more effective at restoring health.

This is an example of the application of the structure-function principle.

Osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest-growing health professions in the United States.

It is not just osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) that makes osteopathic medicine different; it is the osteopathic philosophy on which the whole osteopathic system of medicine is based.

The body is a unit; a person is a unit of body, mind, and spirit.

The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance.

Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.

Possibly the most important of these tenets is the first one that the person is composed of body, mind, and spirit. Thus, to treat the whole person, one needs to treat all three aspects.

These tenets are at the core of osteopathic medicine and are what make the osteopathic view of a patient distinct.

BENEFITS OF THE OSTEOPATHIC APPROACH

The benefits of an osteopathic approach can be many-fold including fewer unnecessary imaging studies; decreased use of prescription pain medications; decreased time in physical therapy; decreased need for referrals; and a decrease in indirect costs associated with pain.

The osteopathic physician’s emphasis on the musculoskeletal system, combined with a mind-body approach to patient care leads to an expanded differential diagnosis that includes somatic dysfunction.9,18 This expanded understanding of the disease, combined with the osteopathic physician’s knowledge of complex neuroendocrine reflex systems, can help integrate seemingly unrelated symptomatology and develop a holistic plan to achieve health in their patients.

Because chronic pain patients are often very difficult to treat successfully, it would be to their advantage to have an osteopathic component in their assessment and treatment.

OMT helps patients lower their medication requirements, keeps them away from procedures, and hopefully keeps them away from surgery, Dr Welches says.

Procedures and surgery are great when it’s the right thing for the patient, but osteopathic manipulation is simpler than pain management.

TREATING CHRONIC PAIN, THE OSTEOPATHIC WAY

Chronic pain affects millions of Americans each year. Managing chronic pain without the use of opioids and other painkillers is possible for some patients.

Chronic pain is a huge problem and it’s getting worse due to the ageing population

OMT can be a gamechanger

Treat structural and tissue abnormalities

Relieve joint restriction and misalignment

Restore muscle and tissue balance

Promote the overall movement of blood flow throughout the body

OMT Treatments can be a game-changer. Instead of applying direct force or only focusing on only muscle-based treatment like myotherapy, physical pain needs a balanced treatment that focuses on the treatment of both muscle, and joint through soft-tissue manipulation, stretching, graded-strengthening protocols, and spinal manipulation (adjustments).

DIFFERENCE IN CHIROPRACTIC AND OSTEOPATHIC APPROACHES TO CHRONIC PAIN

Based on what you have read and the claims regarding who is which treatment is better and which is more effective, the manual treatments are entirely different according to the concept and ideology of both the chiropractic and osteopathic approach.

It is the patient’s choice as to which treatment provides more relief and is more suitable for their body type and ideology. However, the benefits of the manual approach are that they are non-surgical, non-drug, and non-invasive in nature, which can treat a wide range of musculoskeletal health issues, but clearly osteopathic manual treatments do not claim to treat any underlying medical conditions like diabetes, asthma, or any other physiological conditions and are strictly limited to musculoskeletal spine and joint pathologies.

Chiropractors aim to help with symptoms such as a pinched nerve, or other issues with the nervous system.

They aim to help with specific treatments and spinal manipulations based on an alignment of the spine to treat the spinal subluxations, which cause pain by causing interference in the spinal nerve.

Chiropractors tend to specifically treat muscle and joint pains, with a focus on adjustments to the vertebrae of the spine.

Osteopaths/Manual Osteopaths aim to treat the body as a whole, looking at the structure of the body and the interdependence throughout the body.

Through this approach, an Osteopath will be able to treat a broader range of problems. An Osteopath will utilize a wider range of techniques to manipulate the body and will incorporate soft tissue and muscle manipulation in their approach to correct structural problems like anatomical restrictions in the joint or the surrounding joints in the spine or extremities.

Treatment from a Chiropractor will be relatively short, you may attend a session for a short treatment, which is likely to involve a specific adjustment, and then it’s all over until the next time.

Your Osteopath will spend a longer amount of time with you, understanding your overall health and medical history.

Osteopathic treatment will last much longer and may be spread out over a longer period of time.

Which is best for you? Should you visit a Chiropractor or an Osteopath? A little more understanding of your symptoms can help you choose, as both treatment approaches have their own positive set of benefits.

Hopefully, this post has helped you understand a little more about the differences between a Chiropractic approach and an Osteopathic approach.

Your own understanding of your symptoms or condition will hopefully help you make a decision.

Maybe you need to consider how complicated your problem is.

Is your pain not responding to medications?

Have your initial exercise-based treatments not been able to reduce pain?

Are the exercises and the spine adjustments painful?

Is your condition advocate the application of the forced manipulation technique?

Do you have trouble with multiple spine issues, joints, and tissues?

CAN WE HELP WITH YOUR PAIN RELIEF?

At our STANCE Spine and Pain Clinic, we can offer a manual osteopathic approach along with integrated impulse chiropractic Sense Technology which is a unique combination of manual and impulse technology to help with your pain.

Consultations at our clinic are available to figure out the best possible alternative treatments that can help you faster with degenerative spine and joint problems.

HEAL BETTER. HEAL FASTER

“Our approach has not only simplified the treatments but it also actively involves the patients to recover by our very simplified, yet very dynamic treatment protocols.”