by Inga Allen
I HAVE recently started a two-year postgraduate diploma course in Women’s Health Osteopathy. The course is run by one of the experts in the field Professor Renzo Molinari. It is the first of its kind in the world.
The course focuses on how Osteopathy can support the changing physiology of women throughout the stages of their lives, with particular emphasis on fertility, pregnancy, birth and post-partum, gynecological health, menopause and healthy aging.
Women’s Health Osteopathy is a specialist and integrated approach, which aims to restore balance to both the physiological and psychological aspects of a woman’s wellbeing. It incorporates treatment of all the body systems including the musculo-skeletal, nervous, digestive and hormonal system.
Just like with any form of Osteopathy the key principles are to remove restrictions in the body to enable better blood supply and drainage to all body tissues. Possible symptoms that patients would present with could be:
- Low back pain in pregnancy
- SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction)
- Fertility problems
- Stress incontinence
- Pelvic organ prolapse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Rehabilitation after surgery
Women’s health Osteopathy may be for those that look for a more holistic approach to manage symptoms or it may be in an alternative alongside conventional approaches.
In my treatment approach I take into consideration the whole being. I treat using gentle massage like techniques on the viscera (organs), gentle manipulations of the spine and joints, and even more gentle techniques to reduce stresses in the fascia and membranous tissues of the body.