Osteopathy offers a rewarding career path to those with an interest in helping others and a curiosity to learn more about anatomy and physiology. Osteopathy focuses on promoting the structural alignment of all layers of the body to facilitate the body’s ability to self-heal and self-regulate. In the process, it helps to strengthen the body’s framework as a form of complementary therapy.
If you’re considering training as an manual osteopath, you may be wondering if this career path is right for you. Combining problem-solving and people skills, osteopathy is a great choice for those looking for a dynamic, hands-on profession in the healthcare field. Below, take a look at what to expect from a career as an osteopathy manual practitioner.
1. The Profession is Growing Rapidly
Osteopathy is one of the fastest-growing healthcare professions in Canada, with the demand for skilled professionals expected to increase over the next 10 years. This is partly due to the growing awareness of the benefits of osteopathy, with many insurance plans expanding their coverage to include osteopathic treatments. By working with the interrelated systems and functions of the human body, osteopathic manual therapy can return the body to normal health so it can self-heal and self-regulate. This can be a particularly valuable treatment for those recovering from sports injuries and other physical dysfunctions.
Population aging is also expected to increase the demand for physical rehabilitation services following surgeries and accidents. As an manual osteopath, you’ll be ready to apply your understanding of anatomy and physiology to promote self-healing in all kinds of patients.
2. Program Pathways for All Educational Backgrounds
If your background is not in anatomy or healthcare, the Canadian Academy of Osteopathy offers a Year 1 Prep course that is specially designed for you to learn or review essential anatomy and physiology content before beginning Year 1 of the program. This is the perfect choice for those without a background in health care or with limited experience in health care, such as personal trainers, pilates or yoga instructors and nutritionists.
After building a foundation in anatomy and physiology, students will go on to our four-year osteopathic education program. Here, you’ll not only learn practical, osteopathic techniques but also the founding principles and theory that those techniques rely on. Through a comprehensive program, students of all abilities will be on the path to becoming osteopathy professionals.
3. It Takes Hard Work to Become an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner
Dedication and commitment underlie work as an osteopathic manual practitioner. There are no shortcuts to success in this field. This makes it a highly rewarding career for students with a genuine curiosity to improve their understanding of functional anatomy and a passion for helping others.
When you become an manual osteopath, you’ll combine your knowledge of osteopathic theory and practice to assess a patient’s physical condition. You’ll then be responsible for proposing an individualized treatment plan to meet their needs. Through a principles-based approach combined with supervised clinical training, students at the CAO will get the first-hand experience they need to practice safe, effective and ethical manual osteopathy in their career.
4. You’ll Treat Much More Than Pain
Osteopathic manual practitioners take a holistic, whole-body approach to healthcare. Using manual techniques, osteopathic manual practitioners can provide complementary treatments to patients experiencing physical dysfunctions. But an osteopathic manual practitioner does not concentrate solely on the problem area. Instead, they work to balance all the body systems and to promote overall good health and wellbeing in their patients. With our dynamic training program, you’ll feel confident to treat the layers of the body on a personalized, individual level.