With many years of clinical experience, the team at Oak Tree Osteopathy provide a thoughtful approach to hands-on care and rehabilitation from our beautiful Canterbury clinic. Our team strives for excellence in all aspects of patient care. From kids to older adults and everything in between, our dedicated team of practitioners have the skills and resources to manage the health needs of your family.
There is a lot of crossover in the services that these Allied Health professionals provide. Essentially we are all manual therapists with the aim to improve your pain and mobility! There is also quite a difference from practitioner to practitioner within a single profession also.
Very simply, Osteopathy is known for taking a holistic approach to health care. Osteopaths are looking for the cause of your pain and discomfort and are using hands on techniques to address any problems that they find. Osteopaths treat the local structures causing pain - including the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments while trying to reduce compression allowing the nerves and vessels to have a free pathway to pass messages and bring oxygen to the affected area. It is about the body working as a whole unit and how the structure of the body impacts its function.
Chiropractors treat the body by addressing the alignment of the spine. They often use spinal manipulation with the aim of producing a stimulus to the adjacent nerve. Some chiropractors will use blocks or an activator gun to perform an adjustment.
Physiotherapists provide some hands on treatment while also utilising modalities such as ultrasound. They will often do a strength and movement assessment and provide home exercises for you to follow.
You do not require a referral from a GP to attend an osteopath. You can claim as normal through your private health insurance if you have it. There is a special Medicare funded program for chronic pain and complex cases that does require a referral from a GP.
Yes it is. You will need to check with your insurer whether your specific policy covers you for osteopathic treatment. Most insurers have many standard policies which cover Osteopathy. You can claim part of your osteopathic treatment through Medicare if you have an eligible referral from your GP. This is called a Chronic Disease Management plan and entitles you to a rebate on 5 visits per calendar year. In both cases we can claim these for you on the spot.
Osteopaths believe that the body has an intrinsic ability to heal itself. Our job is to help it along that pathway.
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