Why I Believe so Strongly in Osteopathy

I was extremely excited the day I learned Britte was planning to become an Osteopath. Finally, I would have an osteopath that was not only near me, but one that I could get a regular appointment with!  I have been a big advocate of osteopathy long before Britte became a student of osteopathy. I have seen colic babies eased into the happiest babies in the world, witnessed sciatic pain almost cured in more than one person, and valued the help to the mental stability of my husband after repeated concussions.  Without osteopaths, I wouldn’t have the life I do today. After car accidents, giving birth to two babies, and the recurring injury of computer and phone neck my body should be a wreck, but it isn’t. That is 100% do to the work of osteopaths. 

When I was 17, I was t-boned at the intersection closest to my house. I was resilient and did not realise the major impact that accident had on my body. I waited at the scene for the tow truck, pulled out the items from my unsalvageable car, and walked home.  Little did I know, that day was the start of some major physical changes within my body. For the next few years, I dealt with uncontrollable weight gain, extreme hormonal fluctuations that left me premenopausal and unlikely to have children, and painfully tight shoulders that I could never loosen. I am still working on fully correcting my body, but I am on the right track.  The hormones have stabilised and I am no longer premenopausal and unless I sit too long at a computer or am stuck breastfeeding in a weird position, my neck and shoulders are no longer the solid rocks they once were. Getting here was no easy journey. It took a lot of wrong answers before I figured out the root problem. 

The hormone imbalance was the biggest issue on my radar. Unbearably painful periods and hot flashes were new for me and not something I was ready to live with long term. They were also the first sign that something was wrong.  I consulted doctors, nutritionists, naturopaths, and medical herbalists. All with different ideas of what was wrong and how to fix me, and that was just for the hormone issues. For my neck and shoulders, chiropractors and massage therapists were amazing at fixing the symptoms but never were able to get to the root of the issue. It was finally the medical herbalist who suggested I see an osteopath. She had recognised that something within my body was not firing correctly and all she seemed to be able to do was correct the symptoms and she suspected my abnormal tightness in my body was connected to the fluctuations in my hormones. This took me to my first ever osteopath appointment, which was truly life changing. 

In the least scientific way I can explain this, let me tell you what the issue was. After that fateful car accident, the vertebrae in my neck had been injured and compressed around the brain stem. This compression resulted in misfiring of messages to the brain, and decreased blood flow to my head. Thus my hormones were imbalanced because the brain was receiving improper information. My neck and shoulders wouldn’t stay loose because these same vertebrae were causing my upper spine to be improperly aligned and everything around it was hardening to compensate. I remember that first osteopath appointment clearly. I have never had so many questions asked and a more detailed medical history shared (I was a very accident prone kid so there was a lot to share).  Once the issue was determined, what felt like the most subtle touch started the process of releasing my spine. The rush of blood flow to my head was a little overwhelming. The rest of the day was a bit of a daze as I readjusted to the new blood flow. A few more appointments later, I was thinking clearly (I didn’t realise how foggy I had become), my period was back to normal, the hot flashes disappeared, and pain I had lived with for so long that I didn’t even fathom existed eased out of my body.   

Now of course, we keep living and new injuries and life experiences occur that make it so one does not stay perfectly fixed forever. Though now that I have discovered osteopathy, it is my typical first stop for issues versus my last. In my early 20s I had a breast reduction and experienced a whole new realignment of my spine as the extra weight lifted. The downside to the reduction was I lost feeling along the side of my breast.

Osteopathy helped make sure my spine aligned correctly and help me break down scar tissue that was stunting nerve growth in the area. I have full feeling back now.  I have also been rear-ended twice since the first car accident both resulting in minor whiplash that left things out of place that have been corrected through the work of an osteopath. After giving birth to my son my hips were wonky, and are now once again back into place. Just 5 months ago, my daughter arrived via cesarean and the resulting scar tissue has been immensely broken down through techniques Britte has shown me. Major sinus headaches have been relieved through decompression techniques. Also, the ever patient Britte has worked on me again and again as I re-injure my neck via sitting scrunched up on the computer, or hunched over reading an article on my phone or breastfeeding my little one in a weird position. This is just a few examples of how osteopathy has helped me. 

I am truly thankful I was referred to my first osteopath. Without that experience, I would still likely be that premenopausal girl unlikely to ever have children. I now have two amazing kids and body that has worked hard to get back to normal - no easy accomplishment after many injuries and accidents. I am also thankful to be a part of Core Potentials, where I get to see the help an osteopath can do every day. Thank you to all the osteopaths out there, what you do can be literally life changing. 

Sincerely, 

Alyssa

PS - if you want to learn more about osteopathy click HERE for more information.