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Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is a specialized massage technique aimed at stimulating the lymphatic system.
This system is responsible for maintaining fluid balance, supporting immune function, and removing waste products from the body.
MLD involves gentle, rhythmic strokes that encourage the movement of lymph fluid, which can help reduce swelling, improve circulation, and enhance overall health.
How is MLD Applied?
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• MLD is a slow, rhythmical touch applied by the therapist in the form of a light massage. It is incredibly relaxing; some patients fall asleep during treatment.
• It has a calming, anti-stress effect which can facilitate the easing of  pain and the reduction of blood pressure. It can also stimulate the immune defence system within the body.
• It brings about a change in the autonomic nervous system, lowering the "Sympathetic" nervous system (daytime / flight nerves) and accentuating the night / rest nerves of the "Parasympathetic" nervous system.
• MLD reduces pain by exciting the "touch receptors" in the skin which produce an inhibitory or blocking signal to the brain, with the correct application.

 

Anyone from teenagers, adults to older people can benefit from Osteopathy. A range of treatment methods are used depending on the age and individual condition of the person.

Benefits of Osteopathy may include relief from pain and assistance to help the body  function better in a number of ways. These include improved mobility  more ease with walking and other movements feeling more relaxed and sleeping better.
Though well known for treating joints, osteopaths work with many other components of the body including muscles, tendons, ligaments, soft tissues, and nerves.

Additionally, sessions involve giving advice on ways to manage a condition such as advice on posture, walking, safe lifting techniques sometimes specific strengthening exercises to do at home.
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Conditions often helped by osteopaths include:

• General aches and pains.
• Joint pain including shoulder hip and knee pain.
• Tingling numbness and pain in hands or arms
• Neck and upper back restriction, headaches and migraines.
• Stress and tension, poor sleep.
• Lower and upper back pain and restriction
• Sciatica
• Osteo and inflammatory arthritis,
• Stiffness, poor mobility and other problems associated with aging.

If you’ve ever had a problem such as a sore back, headache, sciatica or a painful knee it’s likely that you have looked for some kind of professional to help.  Physiotherapists and osteopaths are both allied health professionals whose aims are to relieve pain and help your body work better however the differences between them can be confusing.
 
This article takes a closer look at each profession to find out what they do and how they are different. It may help your guide your choice in making your choice.

Physio’s and Osteo’s probably have more in common than you think, however there are some differences in philosophy, aims, methods of treating and training.

Aims and philosophy:

The aim of physiotherapy is to improve function through rehabilitation i.e.to improve a person’s ability to move and function.  Physios are experts in rehabilitation of injuries and exercise-based management of conditions. They use their in-depth knowledge of anatomy and physiology to assess and treat people with a range of health conditions from sporting injuries, neck and back pain, to people recovering from stroke, brain or spinal cord injury, and conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis and cystic fibrosis.

Osteopaths are experts at manual therapy and their treatments are almost exclusively hands on.  Osteopaths believe that there is a strong relationship between the body’s structure (mechanics) and its function. Their aim is to improve the body’s structure and hence function by working physically using the hands. They have a holistic approach and follow the following principals: “the body is a whole’,“all the body’s systems are interconnected” and that “the body has the ability to self-heal”. A practical example of that is if you see an osteopath for neck pain, they will likely take a look at your upper back, ribs and pelvis as well as your neck.

In contrast Physiotherapy treatment may focus more on mobilising the site of injury rather than the ‘whole body’ approach.

Training and education:

Physios are trained in a wide range of areas and have a much broader scope of practice than Osteos. They work in all sectors of healthcare, including public hospitals, private practice, rehabilitation centres, sporting clubs and community health centers. In Australia, all physiotherapists must complete at the very minimum a bachelor degree (usually four years) in physiotherapy, however many practicing physios have a masters or professional doctorate.

All physiotherapists must be registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency. (AHPRA)

Osteopathic training is almost exclusively in the workings of the human body involving medical science and practical skills and technique. It involves developing advanced palpatory and diagnostic skills.  Osteopaths almost exclusively work in private practice.

In Australia Osteopaths undergo a five-year University training with an undergraduate applied science degree and a Master’s degree.
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All Osteopaths must be registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency. (AHPRA)

​It’s guiding principles have a basis in the healing power of nature believing that:

“The body is not a machine but a vital living organism with a normal tendency towards self-healing, elimination and health” and that: “Health is not merely an absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing.” (1)

In contrary to conventional medicine’s use of pharmaceuticals to treat pathogens osteopaths believed that disease developed due to certain factors lowering the vital force of a person affecting their capacity to heal.

Some of the ways that the early osteopaths and currently Classical School osteopaths aim to encourage the vital processes is through:

• Releasing contracted muscles and other tissues,
• Helping underactive tissues to contract
• Adjusting and balancing joints, bones, ligaments and tendons to each other and to the rest of the body.
• Release of peripheral nerves and nerve centres to relax tight tissues and improve flow to tissues lacking sensation and strength.

Another important principle of osteopathy stems from their belief that it is impossible to treat a painful or injured area in isolation and that it is necessary to address the problem as part of the whole body. The body adapts to a painful knee for example; however, this affects other parts causing pain and loss of rhythm and coordination in walking and other movements.

The aim of treatment is to assist in restoring rhythm and coordination as well as achieving a stable, unified structure for long term recovery.

(1) What is classical osteopathy?