Online Help - April 2007
A Breathe of Fresh Air!
The hay-fever (seasonal rhinitis) season is now here, bringing misery to millions of sufferers. Many more suffer all year round with allergies (perennial rhinitis) and asthma. And of course the common cold is a constant threat.
Hay-fever, coughs and colds and asthma can all be effectively treated with osteopathy.
Hay fever and asthma are basically the same exaggerated immune reaction to environmental allergens, for example the house dust mite or cold, damp air, affecting different parts of the body (typically the eyes, ears, nose and throat in hayfever and the lungs in asthma).
Osteopaths use various models in their patient management as a way of ensuring individually tailored treatment within a conceptual framework which provides an idea of timeframe and expected outcomes.
One example is the fluid dynamics model, which works on the principle that poor fluid dynamics (of blood, lymph, tissue fluid, mucus etc) causes congestion and therefore barriers to movement and health. So improving fluid dynamics improves health!
In the context of respiratory disorders this comes down to improving sinus drainage using firm strokes around the head and neck; plus some cranial osteopathy to ensure the facial bones are not restricted; and work to improve respiratory mechanics by articulation of the thoracic spine, rib cage and diaphragm (the main muscle of breathing, which attaches to the insides of the lower ribs, spine and sternum).
In the case of colds, coughs and ear infection, because this “gets everything moving” the symptoms can worsen for a day or so following treatment but usually clear up very quickly after that. For hay-fever and asthma sufferers relief is symptomatic only but provides a great break from suffering.
These techniques are very gentle and can be used on babies and children. Similar techniques can also be used in the treatment of glue ear (otitis media).
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