Classical Osteopathy, or Osteopathic Manual Therapy is a medical manual therapy, of sound rational principles. It was established by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still – the first, the original Osteopath – in 1874.  

The widely accepted 4 tenets of current day Osteopathy are:

• The body is a dynamic unit (mind, body, spirit, emotions)
• The body is capable of self regulation and self-healing
• Structure and function are reciprocally inter-related
• Rational treatment is based on understanding the above principles

A useful analogy is “the practitioner of Classical Osteopathy is a mechanic, electrician and plumber of the body”.  The Classical Osteopath or Osteopathic Manual Therapy Practitioner, is patient – centered.  Meaning they will work to return the structure of the individual’s body to their normal state (at a pace that supports and empowers their vitality and constitution), thereby improving function.  This manual therapy is implemented to address imbalance, to alleviate pain and suffering in individuals – to assist them in their restoration of health.

People who train in OMT, in Canada, complete a minimum 4year program (12 months each year) of intensive study, completing classes, manual therapy instruction and clinical hours to graduate. It is a similar training and practice to the original Osteopaths that relocated to Canada. The programs of this length, in Canada, are structured similarly to the original Osteopathic programs, prior to their change to allopathic medical schools.  NOTE:  only schools with this style of program are accepted for insurance coverage.  Shorter programs or courses in osteopathic technique will not be accepted when submitting for insurance coverage.

Graduates of such programs in Canada cannot use the title Doctor. With the use of the title Osteopathic Manual Therapy Practitioner (or some variation), a practitioner will have an MOMSc (Masters of Osteopathic Manual Science) or a DOMP (Diploma of Osteopathic Manual Practice).

Every OMT journey is unique. Some journeys are short and some journeys are longer. Why?
Acute situations (where treatment is occurring in close relation to an injury or challenge), require less treatments and result in a shorter journey.
Chronic situations (where treatment occurs a long time after an injury or challenge) require more treatments and result in a longer journey. The reason for this is our human body is amazing at keeping us safe and alive. If it experiences something it cannot fully repair, immediately, on its own, it will create many different compensation mechanisms to help the body adapt to its new situation. It will keep doing this as long as it needs to. In chronic situations, these compensations or adaptations are much like layers of an onion. The more layers that the body needs to ‘unwind’ to return to its normal – the longer the journey.

All journeys begin with completing an intake form. This form is lengthy. I ask that you complete it with as much information as you can. This information is important to help me help you in the best way possible.

Initial sessions
The initial session provide the opportunity to discuss your situation in more detail, build relation, provide you with information unique to you which is going to assist you with treatments and assess your body. In acute situations, assessment and treatment will occur. In chronic situations, treatment may not occur on the first session because i) there may be details you have not included on the form or ii) we may need to prepare you for treatment so you will have the best outcome possible.

Follow up sessions
Follow up sessions provide the opportunity for a short check in, followed by treatment. These sessions vary in length (30, 45, 60min). If you have many questions, you can choose a longer interval of time.

Education
With decades of experience in providing manual therapy treatment to individuals, Sandi has full confidence in her ability to assist your body in making the change it cannot accomplish on its own. She also is fully aware: when you leave the treatment room, if you have the same habits you had upon arrival, you have the ability to ‘undo’ the treatment. For this reason, Sandi chooses to educate people about how their body’s function, provide support and actions which will help you maximize your ability to not only maintain the gains you make in treatment – to also kickstart your vitality and constitution – so ultimately, your body resumes it’s amazing full self healing, self regulating abilities.

Emergencies/Pain flares
There are times when emergencies occur or when a person enters a pain or inflammation flare. Emergencies will be handled as soon as possible. If you are in an emergency situation that is medical – please proceed to your doctor or walk in clinic. If you are in an emergency situation that is non-medical – please contact Sandi, she will do her best to get you an appointment as soon as possible.
In chronic situations, sometimes we open to a new level of the healing journey (peel the onion back) and your body requires shorter treatments, closer together. In this case, speak with Sandi directly. If you need to be seen more than once in a week, the following appointments may be shorter (15-30min). See Sandi’s course for more information on your healing journey.

Click here for access to Sandi’s courses.

Timing
Please plan to arrive on time. It often takes longer to drive through Toronto streets, and the TTC often has slow downs. If you are going to be late – please notify Sandi as soon as possible. Your informed consent (intake form) will have details about cancellation policies.

If we ever go over the designated time, you will be charged for the booked appointment time (ex You booked 45min, we used 1 hour – you will be charged for 45min).

If we are ever under the designated time, you will be charged for only the time used in a session.

My promise with timing:
I will always do my best to be on time. Sometimes, I have a person who requires extra time in an already full schedule. We, my current clients and myself, have a practice of being patient with this. Why? It may be you one day who requires that extra time. We extend care, kindness and compassion to one another as we create a healthy community. If you are waiting for your appointment and it is past your start time – be assured you will have your full appointment time.

Ensure you wear comfortable clothing to your appointment. When you receive treatment, your body will be moved in many different ways. Comfortable clothing ensures we can do all we need do and are not restricted by the clothes. In Canada, Osteopathic Manual Therapy occurs with clothes on.

Ensure you hydrate well prior to your appointment – and – daily while you are in active, regular osteopathic treatment. This will help you integrate and process your treatment. People who are well hydrated, in my 40yrs of clinical experience, have better outcomes.

The office is a chemical scent free environment. Please do not wear artificial scents – any perfumes, colognes, or body products with chemical or synthetic scents. Please consider scent free laundry detergent. Products with medical grade essential oils are permitted. Lavender is strictly prohibited. I have people with allergies, sinus challenges and environmental sensitivities in my practice. We work together to create a safe environment for all.

Do not ingest and entheogens or hallucinogens or alcohol prior to your appointment. This can alter your ability to uptake, integrate and process your treatment.

Pay attention to your body before your appointment – you will be asked how your body is doing. Do not be surprised if you start noticing ‘strange/weird’ things happening in your body 24-48 hours prior to your appointment. This could include old symptoms/pains. This is the wisdom of your body speaking to us – letting us know where its priorities are.

In treatment your body is moved passively (by the practitioner) or actively (the practitioner will ask you to move). You may also be treated in many different positions: standing, lying down, sitting, on your side. If you are limited in your movement you will be treated in positions that you are comfortable in.

Many people describe OMT treatments as feeling: better, relaxed, sleepy, gentle, more open, lighter, clearer, relief, ability to breathe, more energy.

Sometimes, discomfort can be a part of the treatment process, especially in cases of chronic pain, when there is spasm or a great deal of tension, or when pressure is being release from a nerve. When this is experienced – Sandi will be able to explain what is happening and why it is happening. She may provide you skills and tools to assist you. And, she will help you get ‘to the other side of the pain’.

Remember – this is your journey – your treatment. You have the right to stop the treatment at any time.

NOTE: Sandi provides full body, complex treatments, which may require contact with many areas of the body. Sometimes in our experience of being disconnected from our body, or when we have previously experienced trauma, we may arrive to an appointment and ask for an area or part of our body to not be moved or touched. There may be times when Sandi, and your body, will agree with this and treatment can proceed. There may be times when Sandi, and your body, are not in agreement with the request the mind is making – and – she will suggest you don’t have treatment on that day, explaining why and providing you the opportunity to reschedule, without any late fee cancellation.

This is an interesting question I am often asked.  Why?

• Pain has a component which is subjective. Some people have a high pain tolerance and ‘don’t feel pain’, others have a different pain tolerance and feel large amounts of pain sensation at lower levels of stimulation
• There are many different types of pain – pressure, inflammation, fluid, organ, neurological, muscle/tendon/ligament, joint, emotional, mental, spiritual
• Your conscious mind can be unaware of pain your body is processing or ‘running’ in the neurology
• The mind can expect that there should be pain and create pain

You can be sure that the Sandi will find sore spots ‘you didn’t even know you had’.

For people with chronic pain, organ pain or neurological pain … you may feel pain at different times during the session. With this type of experience, many clients refer to it as ‘good pain’. What they mean by this is that they feel pain when contact is made (or an action/movement occurs) then the pain goes away – and – they feel better than they did when they first came in.

In your journey with Sandi, you will learn:

• how to discriminate between all the different types of pain you are experiencing
• skills, tools and strategies to work with your pain to keep it moving in the right direction (out of your reality)
• when you are experiencing ‘historical’ pain – pain patterns you have experienced before

Integrating and processing is what your body does following treatment.  Sandi is not the ‘healer’ – she is the helper.  Your body is the healer.

When your body is integrating … it is rebalancing, shifting and changing all the different areas – cells, tissues, systems – of your body that are connected to the changes made.  Think of when you are redecorating a room in your house.  You move one thing – and then realize you need to move many different things to make sure the room looks and feels better (is more balanced).  That may also have you thinking about changing other rooms in the house now.  If we change something in your shoulder …. Your body may then need to change something in your hip, neck, head, lungs, ribs, blood vessels, lymph vessels, muscles, tendons, ligaments, feet to make sure that everything is balanced.

When your body is processing…it is rebalancing all the physiological processes that now have new circulation and/or stimulation occurring.  For instance, if you have had a chronically tight (contracted) muscle – the individual cells of the muscle are not going to move the waste out of the cells so efficiently.  Imagine if instead of coming to pick up your garbage once a week, the city garbage trucks only came once every two months.  All that garbage would pile up (and probably not smell very good).  When circulation starts to move – your body is now able to get nutrients and building blocks into the cells and tissues and wastes out of the tissues.

The removal of the wastes is often referred to as detoxification (the action of removal of wastes/toxins).

Often the human body is amazingly fast at doing all of these changes – generally in 1 – 3days following treatment.  Sometimes, however, in chronic situations, our internal capacity is not as efficient.  Then we can take much longer to process treatments.

Sometimes we can have a ‘flare’ following treatment.  If this happens to you – contact Sandi immediately.  This is often when the body is having challenges integrating and processing, because it has been operating differently from your normal for so long.  This is when we may need to apply some new skills, tools and strategies to help the body – or – we may need a few treatments closer together to help the body.

Remember – we do not have to rush our healing journey.  We can, with our mind, decide whatever pace we wish to continue with for our healing journey.

For more information – see Sandi’s courses.

Click here for Sandi’s courses.

Specific suggestions will be provided to individuals during their treatment time. Generally, here are some suggestions people have experienced benefit with.

• Have a 20-30 minute therapeutic walk later in the day, after treatment. A therapeutic walk means: you are walking, in anatomical neutral, without bags (and without dogs pulling on a leash); you are swinging your arms in relation to your legs moving; you are breathing in relation to your legs moving; you are moving at a pace that is comfortable and challenging at the same time.
If you want to know more about why a walk helps – see the course on posture and movement.
• Hydrate well following treatment. Be sure you are getting the water you need for your body/being. If you are having coffee, green tea, black tea or alcohol – make sure you are having the water you need to replace the dehydrating effects of these drinks.
If you want to know more about hydrating – see the course on hydration.
• Rest if you need it – and/or – go to sleep for a nap or early the evening of treatment. Many people sleep very well the night of an osteopathic manual therapy treatment. If you feel more tired earlier than usual – allow yourself the opportunity to go to sleep. Some people, especially those with chronic pain or chronic illness, may feel they need a nap following treatment. If this is the case, try setting your alarm for 45min or 90min.
If you want to know more about why sleep helps – see the course on sleep.

The simple answer is yes. And….
• Not all insurance plans are the same – some plans have more osteopathic coverage than others
• Some insurance companies cover only up to a certain amount on each session – not taking into account the length of time the treatment is
It is important you review your insurance policy. If you have questions about your coverage – call your insurance company. Be a conscious consumer. Ask good questions of your insurance companies and your practitioners – be sure you are getting a service that works best for you.

For those who do not have insurance coverage/benefits, and need assistance with finances, Sandi offers a Co-Creative Payment Plan. This is a method which allows you to pay what you can afford and obtain treatments when you need it, instead of waiting until you have enough money.

Click here for Co-Creative Payment Plan

Sandi offers mentoring to Osteopathic Manual Therapy students and practitioners.  She provides this on an individual basis, and also provides classes for your needs in small groups.   If you are interested in mentoring with Sandi reach out through the contact section.