Are the tensions real or a marketing thing?
A patient recently said, that she does not feel tensions. So, what is it about the tensions osteopaths claim to release?
Yes, she is right, how can osteopaths talk about the tensions, when they do not exist in the concept of the patient? Maybe I can bring a little bit of clarity to the concept.
Osteopaths feel with their hands into the body to detect, if everything is floating in harmony, or if there is something that is “out of sync”. If something is “out of sync”, these are tensions. You may not perceive them as tensions, as osteopaths perceive them. But your body gives you pointers that you should take care of yourself.
These hints are most of the time expressed in pain: back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain are the most common. The pain may even be intermittent or occasional. It comes and goes, you can manage the pain, no big deal. For us osteopaths it is a hint to “look” deeper and to find the reason why you experience pain from time to time. And when we find it, we resolve it, and the occasional pain disappears and you feel overall better.
In a nutshell, do not wait until the pain is constant, that means, too many tensions have already built up and we may have to see each other a bit more often during a period of time.
If you understand osteopathy as a prevention measure, you are on the safe side, to keep the tensions as low and your well-being as high as possible.
Learn more about tensions in the body