Very often overweight individuals do not get help for their physical pain because they feel it is due to the weight. This is not always the case. Of course, the weight is a contributing factor. Added stress to joints and muscles will lead to more wear and tear on the body, and a greater demand to the cardiovascular and nervous system. However, the body is designed very well to take on added weight when the structure is aligned.
Treating Obese patients is more difficult to the fact that feeling the body for asymmetry’s is more difficult, but not impossible. However, observing the movement of the obese body and an average individual is relatively similar. Finding out where the body likes to move, and does not like to move gives the osteopaths clues to which part of the body is being restricted, and which muscles can be involved. Also the alignment of the upper body from shoulder to shoulder, and the movement of the neck while turning will give the trained osteopaths many clues to what is happening in the upper body. This can be used to help determine what is happening in the lower body, however there needs to be a better analysis of the lower body no matter how difficult it is to confirm the analysis, or else you are playing with guess work.
One recommendation to give to practitioners working with overweight individuals is to perform the treatment while the patient is lying on their side as much as possible. A pillow can also be put in the mid lumbar region of the body to better align the spine. This position takes stress off the spine, compared to lying on the back or the stomach. Also, working one side of the body at a time is easier for the osteopath as well.
One mistake I witness practitioners doing to overweight individuals when coming in with pain is mention that they should lose weight to help with the issue. Every overweight individual knows they are overweight, and knows that the weight makes it harder on the body, there is no need to make this obvious statement to them. They are not in your office for weight loss tips, they are in for relief, and that is all the practitioners mind should be focused on.
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