Osteopathy Berlin-Mitte
Table of contents
What is osteopathy?
Originally the term osteopathy comes from ancient Greek and is made up of the words ostéon “bone” and páthos “suffering”, meaning “bone disease”. In conventional medicine, the term is used both for pathological changes in bones and for a so-called complementary medical treatment method. In our practice for osteopathy and physiotherapy in Berlin-Mitte, we offer treatments based on the second definition.
The foundations of modern osteopathic procedures are based on the research of the American doctor Andrew Still. He considered the body and its individual parts to be an inseparable functional unit 140 years ago. This means that, based on his research, it could be assumed that a body is only truly healthy if the joints and muscles are mobile.
The body as a unit
Andrew Still developed his therapy methods on the basis of assumptions such as the essential role of the arteries in the body’s mobility, the combination of the human being consisting of spirit, soul and body, the self-healing powers of the human organism and the reciprocal relationship between function and structure in this organism.
This holistic approach is still valid today, although various sub-areas of osteopathic teaching have developed in the meantime: parietal (concerns muscles and connective tissue), cranial (based on inherent rhythms in the organism) and visceral osteopathy (concerns the internal organs and how they are suspended via the connective tissue). Please also read our blog article: The four foundations of osteopathy according to Andrew Taylor Still
Manual therapy – treatment with the hands
Today’s non-invasive therapy is also a combination of these holistic assumptions and treatment methods that have been around for much longer. The method of “bone-setting”, i.e. the alignment or adjustment of bones and joints, originated in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. The main focus of the treatment was to straighten joint misalignments by manual palpation in order to allow freedom of movement. If you combine this method with Still’s treatment concept, you get the modern version: treatment of “bone ailments” through manual therapy – in other words, the body is treated exclusively with the hands of the osteopath.
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We get to the bottom of the causes together
As your physiotherapy practice in Berlin-Mitte, we support our patients with a wide range of therapies. Osteopathic medicine in its entirety deals with a variety of complaints and different clinical pictures, which we are happy to treat for you in our practice: from joint pain, tension, blockages, restricted movement, functional disorders and limitations of the musculoskeletal system to migraines, heartburn and menstrual cramps.
Each of our concepts follows our principle: the treatment of our patients is not aimed solely at eliminating the symptoms – rather, the causes should be treated. The osteopath’s task is to support the body’s self-healing powers through treatment and holistic therapy. In our Berlin practice, we primarily treat the fasciae, the fibrous connective tissue that connects the body’s internal organs to the joints, tendons and muscles. However, we are of course experts in all areas and will create a treatment concept for you that is individually tailored to your needs. In this way, we can achieve the maximum effect for you by combining treatments in the individual areas.
Make an appointment for physiotherapy now
Call us to make an appointment at our locations Naturkundemuseum or Stadtmitte.
You can also send us your appointment request via our contact form.
What treatments are available?
Basically, osteopathy follows a simple basic idea: life means movement. Through breathing alone, an adult human being performs around 20,000 movements that are not even perceived. So we are alive because we move and every structure, every organ and every muscle can only function at all through this movement.
The above-mentioned assumed interaction between structure and function within an organism is based on the following theory: structures are strengthened when they are subjected to stress, and broken down when they are not. Bones, for example, protect our organs and also provide support and strength for our body and the structures connected to the bones. If they have to withstand constant high stress, additional bone tissue is formed so that these functions can continue to be performed in the best possible way. If this constant strain then decreases or ceases completely, this tissue regresses as it is no longer needed.
Regardless of which structure in the body is involved, osteopathy attempts to utilize these interactions. A dysfunction of an organ, muscle or similar often manifests itself in reduced mobility. Your specialist in our Berlin practice will check the mobility of the affected structure by palpation. If she detects a dysfunction, she uses the manual therapy options learned in five years of training to restore the original range of motion and thus also the original functional strength. As every person and every structure has individual mobility that is interdependent, each of our treatments is tailored to you personally. In this way, we try to bring about your very own ideal of mobility by stimulating your body’s own self-healing powers. You can also read our blog post on this: Osteopathy in our practice in Berlin-Mitte.
Osteopathy treatments at Physiotherapie Marsch
Make an appointment for physiotherapy now
Call us to make an appointment at our locations Naturkundemuseum or Stadtmitte.
You can also send us your appointment request via our contact form.
Which complaints can be treated with osteopathy?
The primary aim of every treatment in our practice is to restore full mobility, release blockages and enable fluid circulation through the body. Conversely, this means that theoretically all dysfunctions in one of these areas can be treated. These include
- Functional disorders in the skeletal-muscular system
- Complaints of the spine or back
- Restrictions on mobility of any kind or blockages
- Abnormalities in the peripheral nervous system, i.e. signs of paralysis, pain or numbness or sensory disturbances
- Chronic pain of all kinds
- Balance problems, dizziness, headaches and even migraines
- Functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract
- Complaints in the gynecological system such as menstrual cramps
- Sports injuries and accidents
- Impairments in the range of motion of the lungs
- Discomfort in the temporomandibular joint or craniomandibular dysfunction
- Pre- and post-natal care for mother and child
- General abnormalities in the developmental process of infants and toddlers
- Unclear complaints without conventional medical findings, such as neurological abnormalities or arrhythmia for no apparent reason
Osteopathy as a holistic treatment
Of course, osteopathy is not able to heal broken bones, treat tumors or imitate similar conventional medical interventions with its manual treatment methods alone. However, profound injuries to tissue or other structures can be repaired by the body’s self-healing powers, if necessary after conventional medical therapy. Osteopathic treatment stimulates these forces by restoring structural function. In this way, for example, blockages in the body can be released, allowing the exchange of body fluids. In other words, obstructions in the metabolic system are removed and self-healing is promoted through the undisturbed flow of fluids. Please also read our blog post: Osteopathy as a treatment method.
Treating complaints at their source
The ability to heal itself depends on centers such as the hypothalamus, the lymph nodes, the spleen and the bone marrow. Various blockages in different parts of the body, possibly even in a completely different place than the affected center, can disrupt this ability.
Complaints then usually only manifest themselves locally at these centers instead of at the actual source of the problem. Based on our experience, we in Berlin-Mitte can recognize this connection, trace your complaint back to its origin and thus treat not only the symptoms, but you as a person. In this way, we remove the actual blockage, obstacles on the way to the affected center and the symptoms themselves.
By the way: In our practice blog you will regularly find news about osteopathy. It’s worth reading!
Latest blog posts on osteopathy
Osteopathy as a method of treatment
Osteopathic procedures – a real all-round talent
The four foundations of osteopathy according to Andrew Taylor Still
Holistics using an example
If the body is healthy and every maximum range of motion or maximum functional capacity is guaranteed, the organism can compensate for harmful influences. However, if it is not healthy, these influences can slowly but steadily work their way into the various structures. For example, in a job where most of the time is spent sitting down, the rear leg muscle can shorten due to a lack of movement compensation during leisure time. This in turn means that the functionality of the leg itself is limited in comparison to a leg with an unshortened muscle. The body tries to restore the function and uses other structures to do so.
Sitting all the time means that the rear muscle is not used, which weakens it in order to maintain the leg’s ability to function. If this whole process goes on long enough, you may experience pain when walking, for example. By palpating the leg, we can identify where the dysfunction is and use our expertise to determine what is causing the problem. Targeted treatment of the posterior leg muscle will restore its function and correct the problem.
A major advantage of osteopathic treatment is that it can be used as a preventative measure to avoid possible future medical interventions. This is because a disease or damage to a structure often occurs as a result of persistent dysfunction. If this dysfunction is discovered or even prevented in good time, it does not damage a structure and therefore does not lead to a disease that may need to be treated with an operation.
Make an appointment for physiotherapy now
Call us to make an appointment at our locations Naturkundemuseum or Stadtmitte.
You can also send us your appointment request via our contact form.
Who are our osteopathic procedures suitable for?
The short answer: For anyone who suffers from one of the above-mentioned limitations, regardless of their age. However, it is important to emphasize again that this is not an invasive medical procedure. Therefore, if you have a medical condition that requires medical or surgical treatment, non-invasive therapy is not an adequate substitute. This method cannot help with mental illnesses either. However, it can be used in consultation with the attending physician to accompany the illness in order to stimulate self-healing and contribute to a faster and more comprehensive recovery.
If the doctor decides against simultaneous treatment, an alternative medical therapy procedure can be carried out following the conventional medical intervention. As soon as your doctor decides that osteopathic treatment can be carried out without risk, we will support you in restoring this function.
We can treat you either directly or indirectly in our practice in Mitte. In this case, direct means that the area where the blockage is located is treated in order to release it. This means that the immobile part is treated, which can be quite unpleasant. With the indirect method, the movable part is treated in the vicinity of the immovable part in order to also affect the blockage. This method is particularly suitable for existing and severe pain and can be used as preparation for subsequent direct treatment.
Promoting self-healing with osteopathic treatments
We have set ourselves the goal of identifying limitations and complaints and treating them in a targeted manner. Treatment at our physiotherapy practice in Berlin can be preventative, therapeutic or rehabilitative.
If you come to us with headaches, for example, we can avoid the development of clinical symptoms as part of preventive treatment. To do this, we take our holistic approach to heart and don’t just focus on the area where the pain manifests itself. Instead, we also look at the general position, posture and statics of your head and try to determine whether the origin may also lie in the spine, in the internal organs or even in more distant extremities. In any case, we determine whether and where there is a permanent tension that can lead to the constriction of blood vessels and thus to a reduction in blood flow. Through manual therapy, your osteopath will release the tension, restore fully functional blood circulation and thus eliminate your headaches.
With a detailed medical history for an individual treatment plan
No matter what dysfunction or blockage you come to us with: We will have a detailed discussion with you in order to find the cause promptly and help you as quickly as possible. In order to determine the most suitable treatment for you, we will take your medical history, identify any pre-existing conditions, talk to you about your personal circumstances and, of course, address the symptoms you have identified that have prompted you to visit our practice. We will then tailor your further treatment according to your symptoms – always true to our guiding principle of treating not just the symptom, but the cause of the complaint.
Manual diagnostics
As part of the actual treatment itself, our osteopaths in Berlin use their hands to detect movement restrictions, poor posture and blockages. During the examination and subsequent diagnosis, “superficial” factors such as the temperature, mobility and tension of the skin are taken into account. However, as an important part of our osteopathic therapy, the deeper tissue is also taken into account: Ligaments, muscles, fascia, bones and organs are included in the examination. In this way, we can determine the origin of your blockage, even if it differs from the location of the symptoms you are experiencing.
Cranio-sacral therapy, fascia therapy and visceral techniques are among the versatile holistic therapy methods that we also offer in our practice in Berlin-Mitte. You also benefit from the comprehensive qualifications of all our physiotherapists. You will always receive optimal care in every treatment area.
Berlin practice for osteopathy and physiotherapy
The areas of application of osteopathy are very diverse, which is why we can help our patients with many different complaints in our practice in Berlin-Mitte. If a functional disorder of any kind is the cause of your complaints, we therefore recommend treatment in our practice. This includes, for example, back and neck problems such as blockages, lumbago, muscle stiffness, restricted movement and headaches (e.g. migraines, dizziness and tension headaches). Osteopathic treatment is also useful for treating sports injuries. The focus here is on sprains, tendonitis and cramps. A visit to us can also be worthwhile for the treatment of symptoms such as intestinal complaints, constipation or heartburn. The methodology of osteopathic medicine can even help with children or pregnant women.
As a useful complement to conventional medicine, osteopathy accompanies the diagnosis and treatment of clinically established findings in certain areas. A decisive aspect of alternative medical therapy methods is the complete avoidance of chemical medication. Our specialists use only their hands when treating their patients.
If you have any further questions about osteopathy or any other physiotherapy treatment, simply give us a call. The experienced team at Physiotherapie Marsch Berlin-Mitte will be happy to help you.
Make an appointment for physiotherapy now
Call us to make an appointment at our locations Naturkundemuseum or Stadtmitte.
You can also send us your appointment request via our contact form.