What is Osteopathy and What Do Osteopaths Do?

6 min readDec 22, 2021

Osteopathy Near Me What is Osteopathic Medicine What is Osteopathy Osteopathy in Melbourne What Does an Osteopaths Do How Does Osteopathy Work Can I Claim Osteopathy

What is Osteopathy Northcote

Osteopathy, also called Osteopathic Medicine, is a well known therapy, founded by Dr Andrew Taylor Still, an American physician in 1874. If you’ve ever wondered and searched for Osteopathy near me you can see there are many options available, but what is Osteopathy and what exactly does an Osteopath do during an Osteopathic treatment?

Osteopathy Near Me

Searching for the best Osteopathy clinic near you?

At Motion Myotherapy Clinic we provide Osteopathy in Northcote Melbourne to treat and manage all types of acute and chronic physical pain and discomfort to get you moving again. Our experienced Osteopaths are trained physicians in anatomy, physiology, clinical assessment and a range of hands-on techniques. Our Osteopaths hold a degree in Osteopathic Medicine, giving them the skills needed to diagnose and treat many musculoskeletal conditions. If you’re looking for a local osteopath near me, let our Osteopaths help with sports injuries, back injuries from work and joint and nerve pain. Motion Myotherapy strives to be one of the best Allied Health Clinics in Melbourne Victoria Australia. Our professional and experienced Osteopaths do this by understanding the clients needs and using the right combination of hands of manual therapy to relieve pain fast and prescribe strength and rehabilitation exercises for long term results.

Liamme Cardinal Osteopath Northcote

What is Osteopathic Medicine?

Osteopathy is a form of holistic manual therapy performed by a registered Osteopath who treats the neuromusculoskeletal system, meaning the bones, muscles, nerves and the other tissues that support your body and control your movements. Osteopathic treatment aims to improve the client’s overall health and wellness by treating the person as a whole, not just the condition or injury present. Osteopathic medicine involves many techniques including manipulation, stretching, massaging, and articulation of the musculoskeletal system. Osteopathy is a hands-on type of physical treatment. Manual treatment techniques are aimed to reduce acute and chronic pain, increase physical joint range and mobility and also enhance the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluids. Our Osteopaths also have further training in Strength and Conditioning in order to maximise long term health benefits.

What is Osteopathy?

What is Osteopathy all about? In Australia, Osteopaths are defined as allied health practitioners that are government funded. Osteopaths undergo extensive training at a university level in anatomy, physiology, pathology, general healthcare diagnosis and osteopathic techniques. Osteopathy is an effective alternative solution of healthcare that focuses on the neuromusculoskeletal system to treat the body as a whole to get you moving and returning to your activities of daily living. Osteopathy is an Allied Health modality alternative to traditional medicine, yet has many similarities with physiotherapy and chiropractic too.

Osteopathy in Melbourne

If you’re looking for an Osteopath near me our clinic is located in Northcote High Street servicing the Northern Melbourne suburbs of Thornbury, Fitzroy, Brunswick, Fairfield, Preston and Ivanhoe. Motion Myotherapy clinic is open 7 days a week with experienced male and female physical therapists with convenient after hours times available and private health fund rebates available via the HICAPS machine onsite.

What Does an Osteopath Do?

Osteopaths assess, diagnose and treat back pain, sports injuries, neck pain, chronic pain and rehabilitate using a range of different modalities

Osteopathy Techniques Include:

Musculoskeletal and nervous system assessments
Manual therapy hands on treatment
Clinical exercise and rehabilitation programs
Movement, postural, positioning advice and ergonomic assessments.
Myofascial dry needling and cupping

Our Osteopaths at Motion specialise in these techniques and also offer therapeutic modalities like dry needling, cupping, trigger point therapy and massage within treatments. Osteopaths may give advice on exercise and stretching, lifestyle, stress management, nutrition and sleep position that may influence your current pain, injury or dysfunctional movement.

How Does Osteopathy Work?

Osteopathy is a discipline that looks at the body as a whole, integrating rational scientific knowledge and following core fundamental principles. The Osteopathic philosophy has four key principles which are:

The human body is considered a dynamic unit of function.
The body possesses self-regulatory mechanisms which are healing in nature
Structure and function of the body are interrelated across all levels
Rational treatment is established from these principles

Osteopathy Northcote Melbourne

When Should I See an Osteopath?

When is the right time to seek Osteopathy? There are many reasons to see an osteopath when you’re in pain or injury which may be affecting activities of daily life.

To have assessment and management of a neuro-musculoskeletal injury or impairment and its functional impacts
To prevent the risk of possible injury based upon movement styles adopted
To examine the biomechanical implications
Posture advice and education, ergonomic tips, sleeping positioning, improving body alignment, physical strength and conditioning
To have developmental assessment for children, including orthopaedic and motor control assessment
To strengthening pre/post child birth for stability
Return to work functional capacity assessment and planning of injured workers.

What Services Can Osteopathy Claim?

If you have private health insurance and have additional health extras you can claim for Osteopathy treatment. If you need more information about health fund rebates please discuss with your GP, case manager or osteopath before your first session. WorkSafe and TAC compensation injury management plans are also managed with Osteopaths practitioners.

Private Health Insurance: Health fund rebates for Osteopathy are available which is covered by all major private health insurers like Medibank, Bupa, AHM, NIB, HCF with extras cover.
Medicare: Clients can claim Osteopathy treatments with Medicare when part of the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) program. Which is a program for clients who have been diagnosed with a chronic health condition. If this is you you may be eligible for assistance with the Chronic Disease Management (CDM). A special referral form by a GP must be completed first to be referred to an osteopath for treatment.
WorkCover Plans: If you’ve been injured at work you can get Osteopathy treatment for workplace injury management services in each state in Australia.
Transport Accident Commission (TAC) Plans: If you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident you might be eligible with a TAC plan under Compulsory Third Party arrangements in each state and territory in Australia.
Veterans Affairs Plans: Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) services can be accessed when you obtain a referral from a GP, specialist, a hospital discharge planner or an osteopath with a current referral.

What does an Osteopath Treat?

Osteopathy Is Effective At Treating A Wide Range Of Disorders: