Understanding the Differences Between Osteopaths, Physiotherapists, and Chiropractors

At Bodyfocus, we understand that navigating through different allied health professions can be confusing. Osteopaths, physiotherapists, and chiropractors all play vital roles in managing musculoskeletal pain, injuries, and movement issues. Here's a breakdown of their similarities and differences:

Similarities & differences

- Allied Health Practitioners: Osteopaths, physiotherapists, and chiropractors are all considered allied health practitioners.

- University Qualified: Each profession requires rigorous university training to obtain qualifications.

- Treatment Focus: All three professions specialise in treating musculoskeletal pain, injuries, and movement problems.

- Therapeutic Techniques: Osteopaths, physiotherapists, and chiropractors may utilise manual therapy techniques and prescribe exercises during consultations.

- Lifestyle Advice: Regardless of the profession, you can expect to receive lifestyle advice aimed at promoting overall health and wellbeing.

- Collaboration: Osteopaths, physiotherapists, and chiropractors work collaboratively with other health professionals, such as GPs, to ensure comprehensive care.

- Regulation: All practitioners must be registered under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).

While there is overlap among these professions, each has its unique approach to treatment. At Bodyfocus, we believe Osteopathy stands out for several reasons:

• Holistic Approach: Osteopaths consider the whole person when diagnosing the root cause of pain. We assess your body's movement, any injuries, health status, and lifestyle factors to understand how they contribute to your pain or discomfort.

• Individualised Treatment: Osteopathic treatment is highly personalised. Our hands-on techniques and unique skills set us apart. Our experienced practitioners employ a variety of techniques, including manual therapy, massage, stretching, mobilisation, manipulation, dry needling, radial shockwave therapy and exercise prescription, tailored to your specific needs.

• Comprehensive Care: By addressing various parts of your body, not just the area of pain, Osteopaths ensure a comprehensive approach to treatment. For instance, if you come in with hip pain, we may also focus on treating related areas like the lower back, foot and ankle. Because everything is connected and all of these areas can influence and impact your hip pain.

• Patient-Centred Approach: We prioritise open communication and collaboration with our patients. We listen to your concerns, discuss activities that may exacerbate your pain, and involve you in developing a personalised treatment plan for you. Educating you to help you understand your role in getting better.

At Bodyfocus,  we aim to provide long lasting care by combining osteopathic diagnosis and treatment with individualised rehab plans and home exercises to empower every patient to be in charge of their optimal health outcomes.

Your Guide to Understanding the Osteopathic Approach

Have you ever wondered what sets Osteopathy apart from other allied health professions like chiropractic and physiotherapy? Despite being one of the smaller allied health providers in Australia, Osteopathy is gaining popularity worldwide, and is one of the fastest-growing allied health professions in Australia. Let's delve into the world of Osteopathy and discover what makes it unique.

Defining Osteopathy:

At its core, Osteopathy is about more than just treating symptoms—it's about considering the whole person. Osteopaths are allied health professionals who employ manual therapy, structured rehabilitation, and a holistic approach to patient care. Osteopaths use a range of techniques to treat pain, including massage, mobilisation, and stretching. They will work to target the root cause of the pain, rather than just treating the symptom. This can mean that the relief gained from osteopathy is often long-lasting and can offer a more permanent solution than simply taking painkillers.

Why Choose Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the general population, placing patient care at the forefront of everything we do. With a holistic approach to treatment, Osteopaths not only address your presenting complaint but also consider how factors like work and lifestyle impact your health. Ever noticed how stress at work can lead to increased back pain? Or how persistent neck stiffness affects your daily life? We use manual therapy, exercise rehab, and education to empower our patients to build a robust body to deal with any complaint.

The Osteopathic Appointment Experience:

Wondering what to expect during an osteopathic appointment? Initial sessions typically last between 45 to 60 minutes, allowing ample time for a thorough assessment, detailed case history of your presenting complaint, treatment, and education about your condition. Osteopaths are trained to help people who are in pain. They are allied health practitioners that are registered through AHPRA. In terms of what Osteopaths actually do, each practitioner may do things slightly differently. Generally, Osteopaths take the time to listen to you and ask questions about your pain and about your lifestyle, and things that may be impacting your health. Follow-up appointments are usually around 30 minutes, with the frequency determined by the nature and severity of your injury.

This is an image of an osteopathy treatment with needling incorporated

What Conditions Do Osteopaths Treat?

Osteopaths treat a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions, from chronic issues to acute injuries. Osteopathy is suitable for everyone, from tiny tots to golden oldies. Whether you're struggling with neck or low back pain, shoulder discomfort, pregnancy-related discomfort, postpartum complaints, postural issues, headaches, jaw pain, migraines, muscular strains, joint sprains, workplace injuries, or sports-related injuries, the list is long. We do this with a variety of treatment techniques and styles, including hands-on soft tissue or massage work, joint articulation, manipulation, and dry needling. We also prescribe rehabilitation and try to educate you to understand your pain and to help you to manage it yourself.

Our goal is for you not to need us, which for a business model, is not common. Empowering people to have control of their health is our passion. Ensuring you leave us moving and feeling better is always our main focus.

Collaboration with Other Therapists:

Osteopaths believe in the power of teamwork when it comes to patient care. We work closely with other allied health professionals such as General Practitioners, Orthopaedic surgeons, podiatrists, and exercise physiologists to provide comprehensive treatment options.

The Osteopathy Degree Journey:

Becoming an Osteopath is no small feat—it requires dedication and years of study. Osteopaths are Allied Health Professionals who undergo a rigorous minimum four-year, full time university qualification. Throughout their studies, osteopaths focus on anatomy, physiology, pathology, neuroanatomy, and osteopathic history, techniques, and practice. With a strong foundation in both theory and practical application, osteopaths are equipped to treat a wide range of conditions and provide exceptional care to their patients.

In conclusion, Osteopathy offers a unique approach to healthcare, focusing on holistic patient care, collaboration with other healthcare professionals, and evidence-based treatment techniques. If you haven't already experienced the benefits of Osteopathy, why not give it a try? Book your appointment with one of our friendly and experienced Osteopaths today and discover the amazing benefits for yourself.

Do you ever wake up with a headache and a sore jaw?

Why Does this happen?

This could be a result of bruxism, also known as teeth grinding. Whether it occurs during sleep or while you’re focused on tasks during the day, this rhythmic clenching and grinding can affect people of all ages. Even during moments of concentration or relaxation, your jaw might be under stress. It’s essential to ensure your jaw remains relaxed whether you’re lifting weights, going for a drive, or engrossed in a good book.

Bruxism is often triggered by stress, tension, or anxiety. Many people are unaware of their teeth grinding since it predominantly happens during sleep. You might only realize it when a partner mentions the grinding sound at night or your dentist notices signs of wear on your teeth. If left unchecked and becoming habitual, teeth grinding can lead to various issues such as tooth damage, headaches, neck pain, and jaw dysfunction.

To manage teeth grinding and clenching, consider the following tips

1. Stress management: relieving stress is one of the key factors in reducing grinding and clenching. Stress reduction techniques such as listening to music, taking a warm bath, exercise and mindfulness techniques are a great place to start. Some of our favourite Apps to guide you in these Mindfullness techniques that we love to recommend are; Smiling Mind, Insight Timer and Calm. You may also want to chat to your GP about your mental health, and how you are managing your stress and anxiety.

1. Become more conscious of your clenching: Be mindful of your oral habits during the day. If your top and bottom teeth are touching at rest, you’ve caught yourself clenching. Consciously relax your jaw. You can try placing your tongue behind the top front teeth to discourage clenching.

2. Develop a good sleep routine: allow yourself some time in the evenings to relax and wind down from the day. Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake, switch off from screen time (no scrolling social media in bed!), have a warm bath or shower, drink a herbal cuppa, listen to a sleep meditation, or practice some breathing techniques – find what works best for you to increase your chances of having a calming night’s rest.

3. Avoid chewing gum & chewy foods: Chewing gum and sticky foods can encourage jaw clenching. Opt for softer foods and limit gum chewing. Give your jaw a break and ease any soreness.

4. Chat to your dentist: it’s important to check in with your dentist to determine if there is any damage to your teeth, which can worsen over time. Your dentist may fit you with a custom night guard or splint to protect your teeth while you sleep. Though this won’t stop you from grinding or clenching completely, it can prevent further damage from occurring.

5. Warm compress and jaw self massage: when the muscles around your jaw are working overtime they can become sore and tight. Applying a warm, damp cloth to your jaw before bedtime can help relax the muscles and reduce clenching.

6. Osteopathic treatment: Physical treatment techniques are effective methods for treating bruxism. If you think you may be suffering from symptoms related to grinding and clenching your teeth, get in touch to make a booking and see how we can help.

Remember, everyone’s situation is unique, so it might take some trial and error to find the strategies that work best for you. It’s important to address teeth clenching not only to prevent dental issues but also to promote overall well-being.

How Osteopathic Treatment can Support Pregnancy

Expectant mothers have new and unusual pressures on their bodies, with the combination of increased weight, altered posture, functional and hormonal changes, fluid retention or even a simple change to the type of shoes you now happily justify wearing.

Each experience of pregnancy is different and thus an osteopathic approach to pregnancy will always be tailored to the mother, her baby, and her current state of being. Gentle treatment to help rebalance the spine and pelvis will not only reduce any discomfort while carrying the baby, support your body to accommodate these changes, optimise the baby’s position and help you to prepare your body for birth.

Common Reasons Women Seek Osteopathic Care During Pregnancy

• Lower back pain, hip & sciatica

• Pelvic pain (Sacroiliac joint/pubic symphysis)

• Maintenance of postural balance

• Neck & shoulder pain

• Rib cage pain

• Headaches & sinus congestion

• Carpal tunnel syndrome, leg cramps & fluid retention

• Reflux/Heartburn

What to Expect in your Osteopathic Treatment During Pregnancy

Osteopathic treatment is a very gentle and an effective way of relieving the stresses and pains of pregnancy. Osteopaths mainly work with the soft tissues of the body – gently treating the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. Treatment also includes educating you on home exercises that are specifically tailored – we treat women from the first trimester right through to being ready for birth.

Post birth, treatment can be really beneficial to relieve any strains that have occurred from labour, educate with strengthening your pelvic floor and core connection and to help relieve postural tensions that build up from carrying and feeding your new-born bundle of joy!

Experienced Osteopaths for Pregnancy

We have Osteopaths with special interest and years of experience applying prenatal and postnatal care for pregnant women. We empower you to feel confident about your pregnancy journey. By helping you gain clarity on your treatment plan and teaching you ways to continue to heal and prepare your body which fits in with your lifestyle.

Prepare for motherhood the right way

Call today or book online for an appointment with one of our experienced Osteopaths

Raise your hands up if you have a sore shoulder… and if you can’t you might want to get your shoulder checked out!

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Shoulder pain when it starts can often be easy to put to the side and forgotten about; especially when looking after others, working or catching up on some home renovations. Shoulder pain can progressively increase and before you know it, there can be referred pain down your arm, neck, back and even contributes to headaches.      

The shoulder is a very complex anatomical structure that is extremely mobile, made up of ligaments, tendons, bones, muscles and bursae. Due to how much the shoulder moves it can place a lot of stress on the surrounding tissues, and over time this can cause pain occurring inside the shoulder capsule.

Types of shoulder pain:

Inflammation of the shoulder capsule: Inflammation of the shoulder joint can be due from injuring the joint or from medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Frozen shoulder is from inflammation or thickening of the tendons that lead to the shoulder being “stuck” or “frozen” in place.

Inflammation of bursa: This is a very common issue in the shoulder. These small fluid sacs that lubricate surrounding structures so that friction does not occur. An inflamed bursa typically arises from repetitive/overuse movements.

Injuries and Sprains: Probably the most common cause of shoulder related pain. These can arise from sporting injuries, repetitive movements, falls and work ergonomics.

Risk Factors

• Age: As you get older your risk of rotator cuff injuries increases.

• Manual Jobs: Occupations such as building, painting, or jobs with repetitive work loads, over time, can damage the rotator cuff.

Warning Signs of a shoulder injury:

• Is your shoulder stiff? Can you rotate your arm in all the normal positions?

• Does it feel like your shoulder could pop out or slide out of the socket?

• Do you lack the strength in your shoulder to carry out your daily activities?

How to help:

Here are some simple things you can do to help mitigate the severity of shoulder pain:

• Avoid repetitive overhead lifting and working

• Use a heat pack over your sore shoulder for 15-20 minutes

Try this simple strengthening exercise;

• Take a ball in your hand out in front of you and place it up against the wall.

• Stand tall, and try not to lean your bodyweight forwards to keep the ball against the wall.

• Think about broadening your shoulders and avoid letting them hike up towards your ears.

• Hold this position for 20 seconds, and repeat 3 times.

• For greater challenge, try drawing small circles with the ball against the wall, 10x each direction.

(If this exercise causes any pain, please stop the exercise immediately)

If your pain persists it is worth booking an appointment and formulating a treatment plan with your local osteopath. We would be pleased to hear from you, and help you achieve better health,, please give us a call on 6331 6225.

Written by Osteopath Luka Di Fabio

Radial Shockwave Therapy at Bodyfocus

THIS IS THE NEWEST TREATMENT OPTION TO BECOME AVAILABLE AT BODYFOCUS AND IT IS USEFUL FOR THE TREATMENT OF A NUMBER OF CHRONIC SOFT TISSUE CONDITIONS

You may not have realised but Radial Shockwave Therapy (RSWT) has been around since the early 1980s! It was originally intended for the management of urinary stones, however, it was later discovered that RSWT was effective in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders in the upper and lower extremities.

Contrary to its name, RSWT is not actually electrical shocks but rather sound waves. During the treatment these sound waves stimulate the muscle, tendon or connective tissue where the RSWT is being applied. The cells in these tissues receive more blood flow, start to multiply and produce new cells and connective tissue. The overall result is the tissue heals, becomes stronger and more flexible. Additionally, RSWT works on reliving pain and other symptoms long term by ‘tiring’ the nerves in the area so they temporarily aren’t as sensitive to pain.

Research in to SWT is ongoing but there is evidence to support RSWT in helping with the following conditions:

• Plantar fasciitis

• Achilles tendinopathy

• Achilles bursitis

• Patellar tendinopathy

• Knee bursitis

• Gluteal tendinopathy

• Trochanteric/gluteal bursitis

• Adductor tendinopathy

• Rotator cuff tears/tendinopathy

• Subacromial bursitis

• Tennis elbow/lateral epicondylitis

• Golfers elbow/medial epicondylitis

At Bodyfocus a common treatment block using RSWT will be 3-5 sessions, approximately a week apart. More or less sessions may be required, depending on the patient’s conditions and their response to the treatment. RSWT sessions are worked in with a standard treatment consult, with the RSWT component only taking 5-7 mins each session.

In addition to RSWT patients will receive a wholistic management strategy which may include taping, dry needling, massage, osteopathic treatment techniques, at-home exercises and load management and other lifestyle alterations/advice to enable them to function better and achieve their treatment goals.

The team at Bodyfocus are always available to chat to and can help give you professional advice as to whether RSWT is right for you!

Written by Osteopath Reid Mountney