Osteopathy and Sport

Whether you are a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, your osteopath can assist with prevention of injury as well as treatment of many common sporting injuries. These include:

. neck and back strains
. shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries, eg. tennis elbow
. hip, knee, leg and ankle injuries, eg. shin splints

Prevention is definitely better than cure!

Your osteopath can provide a number of stretching exercises and routines that will specifically assist you with avoiding injury through muscle and joint strain. In addition, depending on your sport and individual needs, your osteopath can provide advice on correct diet to assist you in both performance and recovery.

Osteopathic treatment involves manual techniques, including soft tissue stretching, mobilisation and manipulation, which is like a tune up for strained muscles, joints and spine. This creates a positive influence on your circulatory and nervous systems. In turn, this can have a flow on effect to the rest of the body by improving elasticity and mobility. These hands on methods are gentle, safe and effective.

Out of Breath?

Whether you are aware that you suffer from a breathing disorder or not, it is important, particularly in sport, that you ensure your diaphragm is performing optimally and the rib cage mechanics are functioning correctly. This is highlighted when the body is under stress to perform and the respiratory rate is elevated.

Your osteopath can assess your structure and assist in maintaining good breathing function.

What is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is manual medicine which aims to maintain the normal balance between all the systems of the body by focusing treatment on musculoskeletal components. Treatment of the muscles, other soft tissues and joints will affect the nervous, circulatory and lymphatic systems of the body. In other words, osteopaths look at the human body as a 'total picture'.

An osteopath works gently with the body's structure to diagnose and treat a wide range of health problems.

Osteopathic Training

Osteopaths are government-registered practitioners of manual medicine. In Australia, there are three undergraduate osteopathic courses which are five years full time. Your nearest Australian Osteopathic Association member can be found under the Osteopaths classification in the Yellow pages in your capital city or by contacting the Association.

Osteopaths around Australia volunteered their time and expertise to help our Paralympic athletes be at their best in the lead up to the 2000 Paralympic Games.