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What is Osteopathy? How is it different to other manual therapies like Physio or Chiro? What kind of things can Osteopathy help with? We asked these questions and more when we interviewed our new Osteopath, Dr Sarah Varmalis, who will be starting at Simple Wellness in Rowville on November 6th.  What is osteopathy?
Sarah says... "Osteopathy is a holistic approach to the body. Throughout the osteopathic degree, practitioners learn how to treat through the muscular, skeletal, vascular, fascial and organ systems. Not only do we look into multiple systems but also in multiple areas, say you come in for knee pain, I will most likely look at your ankle and hip, depending on how those structures are going I may go to your lower back or toes etc." How does osteopathy differ from chiropractic care or physiotherapy? Sarah says... "Osteopathy is more of a jack of all trades. Although you learn how to manipulate joints in university using HVLA (high velocity, low amplitude technique that elicited ‘popping’ or ‘cracking’ sound), you also learn about the soft tissue, organs, veins, arteries, etc. Chiropractors spend 5 years learning primarily to manipulate joints, Physiotherapists spend 4 years primarily learning exercises. So although I can do both of these things, my level of expertise in those treatment modalities may not be equal to those that specialise in them." What types of conditions can osteopathy treat? Sarah says... Osteopathy can treat various conditions, including jaw pain, headaches, neck and back pain, tendinopathies, bursitis, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, constipation, help with breathing difficulties, assist with some forms of tinnitus (ringing in the ear), some forms of incontinence etc. If you have an ache or pain or something in your system is a bit odd that you have noticed, let us know, as with our medical knowledge some of those things may trigger our medical brain linking some complaints to one central structure. How does osteopathy address musculoskeletal pain? Sarah says... "Using soft tissue or manual therapy techniques osteopathy addresses the area of pain and surrounding structures, as we believe in a holistic approach. If you feel like I am being too gentle, never fear, as sometimes clearing surface-level structures can be just as important if not more important than deeper ones. Sometimes you have to deal with the packaging before getting to the item inside and this can be true for the body as well." Can osteopathy help with sports injuries? Sarah says... "Yes, Osteopathy can help with sports injuries such as tendonitis, bursitis, ‘pulled’ hamstring, rolled ankles, recovery with bone fractures etc." How does osteopathy support recovery from chronic pain conditions? Sarah says... "Chronic pain is defined as pain that has been felt for more than 3 months. During this time the body will rewire the nervous system, mixing cables around to supervise and monitor the area of pain. Your body will also naturally compensate for this pain structure, so often when a tissue has entered a chronic state, a different approach may be necessary. Osteopaths are trained to peel back the layers of the chronic pain structures to try and get to the starting point, though some areas may take some more peeling than others." Is osteopathy suitable for children and adolescents? Sarah says... "Yes. Osteopathy can be used on all age groups, though for those under the age of 5, we recommend going to a pediatric osteopath, as they have been more thoroughly trained in the treatment of babies and toddlers." Can osteopathy help with headaches or migraines? Sarah says... "Yes. A lot of headaches and migraines can be helped by osteopathic manual therapy techniques, which have been further backed by research." How does osteopathy treat joint pain or arthritis? Sarah says... "The treatment of arthritis primarily involves moving fluid along and helping the joint being pulled or rotated in certain ways to decompress as much as it is able. Unfortunately, once arthritis has reached a certain point we are only able to get to a certain area of comfort level but can help surrounding structures and help by giving exercises and advice." What is the role of osteopathy in improving posture and alignment? Sarah says... "Poor posture is often a result of the body hugging an area of pain or dysfunction. Pain in the body is a result of its inability to compensate for an injury. One way to think of it is like a Jenga tower removing one block won’t cause the tower to fall, nor will the next, but eventually the tower will wobble with a slight breeze before tumbling down. The tower tumbling down here is when you feel pain, up until that point however your body was adapting and compensating for these little insults. As an osteopath, our goal is to find where this initial insult is located and correct it which can help with posture." Booking an appointment with Sarah is simple - she is available Monday to Friday starting from Wednesday November 6th, and online bookings are already open! If you're an existing patient of Sarah's, but new to our clinic, please choose an Initial Appointment. If you're already a patient at our clinic, you can choose a Return Appointment. Dr Sarah Varmalis is starting at Simple Wellness soon - so we wanted to interview Sarah to learn more about her and her approach to healthcare!  What areas of osteopathy do you specialise in?
I love working through the vascular, organ and fascial systems. I find that many things are hiding in these systems that can net better results for patients. Do you have experience treating specific types of injuries or conditions? In this post-COVID world, I have found a lot of people have lingering tension throughout their respiratory system. I have had great results helping alleviate some of the long COVID symptoms such as breathlessness and fatigue, and have helped reduce asthmatic episodes in a variety of patients. I have assisted with some incontinence issues with both female and male patients working through the bladder in a non-invasive manual therapy perspective and have also assisted those suffering from constipation with training received from the Barral Institute. I have had great results with headache and migraine patients using a combination of Counterstrain, Barral, and Cranial techniques to relieve the pressure throughout the head and neck. As someone with EDS (Ehler-danlos syndrome; a connective tissue disorder leading to increased levels of mobility throughout the whole system), I enjoy treating through their system with techniques that I have found work for me, focusing on the vascular and fascial systems. What is your approach to patient care? My primary approach is patient education. I love for my patients to be able to understand what is happening in their system and why it may be occurring. The body is like a Jenga tower and throughout our lives, we are constantly moving blocks around with every injury. Some systems have REALLY tall towers and are quite stable, others are not. I like finding these missing Jenga blocks no matter where the system leads me to create stability throughout. Osteopathy as a profession is a holistic approach to the body and I enjoy embodying this concept as a practitioner. How do you stay up to date with the latest advancements in osteopathy? To maintain my qualification as an Osteopath I am required to do 25 hours of professional clinical development per year, in 2023 I did 130 hours of external courses. I love to learn more about the body often brushing up on my anatomy, reading journal articles and as mentioned attending courses to advance my understanding of the human body. What are the most rewarding aspects of being an osteopath? I love being able to take away people’s pain, to show them things that they have taken as “oh that’s just my system” or “baseline pain”, that they do not have to live like that. Pain is not normal, and I want to help my patients as much as I can with the knowledge that I have acquired to achieve that. Keep an eye out for more about Sarah in the lead up to her starting at Simple Wellness! If you'd like to make a booking, we are already taking appointments for Sarah. Book online to save a time for your first consultation!  Starting on Wednesday November 6th, Dr Sarah Varmalis is joining our team!!
Sarah is an experienced Osteopath who simply loves to help make complicated health conditions easier to understand. She provides effective treatment and support to relieve symptoms and get to the bottom of the problem. Dr Sarah graduated Victoria University as an Osteopath in 2018 and has been working full time helping patients with all sorts of pain, injuries, and health conditions ever since. In addition to musculoskeletal care, did you know that Sarah can help support:
Sarah will be available Monday to Friday, and bookings are already available. If you have already seen Sarah at another location, but you are new to our clinic, please choose from the "Initial Appointment - Its my first visit" menu. If you are a patient of our clinic already, you can book from the "Return Appointment - I've been in before" menu to see Dr Sarah. |
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Simple Wellness Myotherapy & Osteopathy
Shop 12B/150 Kelletts Rd, Rowville VIC 3178 |
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