For an osteopath, all physical and psychological disorders cause loss of mobility in the body , which can reverberate at a distance. Reducing them therefore requires a comprehensive care of the body. In osteopathy, the manipulations carried out can thus be exercised far from the painful zone, at the level of the diaphragm for example to alleviate a backache. Hence a misunderstanding sometimes gestures made.
The osteopath only heals back pain: false
The majority of patients think of osteopathy in case of back pain: lumbago , sciatica, torticollis ... But these indications are not the only ones to benefit from it. Osteopaths, who apprehend the body in its entirety, act on all tissues: on bones, ligaments and tendons, but also on organs and viscera.
They therefore treat many other disorders: for example certain stomach aches - digestive or gynecological, including pain of the rules -, headaches generated by muscle tension (tension headaches), chronic sinusitis due to excess of pressure in the sinuses or vertigo and tinnitus generated by a blockage of the first cervical vertebrae. Their field of action is thus extremely vast.
Only adults can use osteopathy: false
This therapeutic approach works wonders on children. Several pediatric hospitals also use osteopaths to solve maxillofacial deformities of genetic or behavioral origin. By dint of still sleeping on the back, for example, more and more infants present a flat head. In addition to aesthetic damage, this asymmetry is likely to give rise to subsequent disorders: strabismus, repeated otitis, scoliosis ...
"Since babies' skulls are malleable, we can use very gentle manipulations to give them a more harmonious shape," explains Cyril Painvin, a specialist osteopath.
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Osteopaths always crack bones: false
44% of French people associate osteopathic sessions with these disturbing noises. But not all practitioners are "cracking". The touch can be soft, "as light as that of a bird on the branch," says Dr. Alain Cassoura, osteopathic doctor, author of "Energy, emotion, thought at your fingertips" (ed. Odile Jacob). And even when it "crack", it is not the bones but the joints that produce the sound "pock" following the decompression of the synovial fluid.
The effectiveness of osteopathy has never been demonstrated: false
Several scientific studies have proved its interest in certain pathologies. The latest ones are unanimous. French doctors * showed in December 2013 that osteopathy improves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. * Spanish scientists have established that it blurs the pain of pregnant women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. And US researchers *** established in February 2016 that it also reduces 50% of chronic low back pain .
Osteopathy is expensive: false
The price varies a lot from one practitioner to another and depending on the region: from 40 to 100 € the consultation. So you can play the competition. In addition, if Social Security does not reimburse osteopathy, some mutuals support a few sessions per year. Check with your mutual insurance company. Or check out https://www.osteopathe-syndicat.fr/mutuelle-osteopathie.
* of the gastro-enterology department of the Avicenne hospital, in Bobigny
** from the University of Seville
*** University of North Texas
