What is functional rehabilitation?
Functional rehabilitation will be part of your Osteopathic consultation that involves simple movements (lunges, squats, balance, push or pull exercises etc.) with or without weight/resistance. This will simultaneously stretch and strengthen areas of your body in an integrated way to safely re-establish functional daily movements that are pain free and with improved performance.
Basically, in addition to table – based Osteopathic techniques (mobilization, muscle release etc.), we are using the movements your body goes through every day, but in a way that builds more ability.
The advantage this type of rehabilitation has is that it always progresses at a rate that is ‘working with success’. In other words, we always start with movements that you can do, and then build on this, gradually working towards movements that initially you find difficult due to pain or weakness. By building on your successes, these ‘difficult’ movements become easier through this safe and remarkably effective progression.
For example, a lady who came in recently with crutches and a walker boot on following a fractured bone in her foot 10 weeks previously had developed weakness and stiffness in her ankle, and also overall poor balance during walking. By using a walking type starting position, and gently mobilizing her ankle and foot in this position we increased mobility in the region relative to her goal of walking properly again. Because we were already in an upright walking type position, any gains were immediately translated into an easier walking pattern. We then went through some simple walking exercises that challenged her sensory system to adapt and very quickly within the session saw improvements in her balance whilst walking. These fast adaptations are rarely attained by regular table based treatments alone, and require a functional rehabilitation process.
Functional rehabilitation becomes a safe and effective way to get you out of pain and get you moving again.
We can also use this process to expand on your performance in a particular activity (e.g. running, golf) by doing sport specific stretching and exercises.
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