F.A.Q’s

What is osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a manual therapy built on the foundation of anatomy, physiology, and the understanding that the body is a collection of numerous specialized systems that function together as one.

Osteopathy incorporates tools from many different modalities; massage, physio, chiropractic, but it ultimately comes down to detailed holistic assessment and knowing which tool is most appropriate to promote health.

Osteopathic treatments focus on identifying dysfunction, promoting health and encouraging the patient to express self-healing.

Is osteopathy regulated in Canada?

Manual osteopathy is not a regulated profession in Canada. It is for this reason that any potential patient seeking out osteopathic manual therapy do their due diligence when selecting a practitioner.

Nearly all provinces have an association that is a member of the Canadian Federation of Osteopathy. Only fully qualified osteopathic manual therapists can become members of these provincial bodies.

They provide training, support and best practice guidelines for all member therapists.

Is osteopathy covered through insurance?

The cost of osteopathic manual therapy may be covered by private health insurance plans but some patients must pay the full cost of treatment.

Osteopathic manual therapy is not covered by Alberta Health.

**Direct billing is currently unavailable through the clinics.**

How is osteopathy different from other manual therapy disciplines?

We are not!

Every manual therapist or health care provider is trying to achieve the same goal…..get you better.

Osteopathy can look very different from one practitioner to another but the foundational principles remain the same.

The manual osteopath aims to assess the entire patient, provide gentle treatment, and ultimately, remove the pain, strains or stressors that are the root cause of dysfunction.

When should I seek osteopathic therapy?

Manual osteopathy is a great preventative intervention to help maintain optimal function of your body.

It is also appropriate to seek osteopathic intervention when dealing with acute trauma (motor vehicle accidents, soft tissue injury) or chronic dysfunction (medical diagnosis, fibromyalgia, back pain)

What should I wear to a session?

All session are completed fully clothed and it is encouraged that the patient wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing.

What does an osteopathic session with Mike look like?

Every session starts with a conversation to see how you are doing and what external factors may be contributing to your current situation.

You may be asked to preform some standing mobility movements/tests followed by a hands on assessment in multiple positions (if you do have pain in certain positions please let Mike know and the assessment/treatment can be modified).

Treatments are often described as gentle and provide a good balance between nervous system regulation and structural manipulation.

After the session, future sessions and educational information will be discussed if applicable.

How will I feel following an osteopathic session?

Everyone has an individual response to manual osteopathic treatments.

It is not uncommon to feel sore and or tired the next day, feel rejuvenated, experience more energy, or nothing at all.

The purpose of treatment is to offer a change to your current state of living, in hopes that the body will continue the healing process outside of osteopathic sessions.

How many sessions will I need? How often?

No one can say for sure but usually, if after 3 sessions you are not experiencing some positive change, then perhaps alternative interventions should be discussed.

Initially, the patient will come back after a session between 1-2 weeks. As the body makes more positive adaptations, the duration between sessions may be weeks to months.