Most patients seek out Osteopaths for musculoskeletal aches and pain, and one thing that many people do not usually think about going to their Osteopath for, is for sinus infections, sinusitis or sinus congestion.
How Osteopathic Treatment worked for me
Since moving to Melbourne several years ago, over time I began to feel very congested in my sinuses. I developed intense facial pain, headaches and even a bad cold. Luckily I am an Osteopath and have very skilled physicians surround me, so one of my colleagues offered to treat me.
Before my treatment I was congested, having trouble breathing and experiencing facial pain; so my colleague worked on my head, neck and ribcage. Twenty minutes later, my sinuses had drained, I could breathe through my nose and my facial pain was gone. Although I still felt a little sick for several days after that, the congestion and facial pain never returned. This experience really showed me what Osteopathic manipulation can do for congestion and I have been utterly drawn into its health benefits ever since.
How your Sinuses work
The sinuses are four air-filled chambers that are found in the frontal bones above your eyes, behind the upper nose, in the sphenoid bones behind your eyes and in your cheekbones. Their function is to humidify the air, as it journeys to the lungs and trap bacteria in the mucus produced by the lymphatic membranes. These bacteria can then be removed from the sinuses by swallowing the mucus or pushing it out of the naval cavity. When sinusitis occurs, the passages allowing the drainage of the mucus to become restricted and the membranes lining the sinuses can become inflamed. This can present as facial pain/swelling, headaches, blocked nose, a heaviness or pressure feeling in the face, yellow/green mucus from the nose or consistent cough.
How Osteopathy can help you
Osteopathy can be a useful complementary treatment as it involves taking a holistic approach. Treatment includes working around the face, sinuses, neck, thoracic inlet and upper back to help with the drainage of the sinuses. This will make breathing easier and any headaches or other symptoms associated with sinusitis should also ease. Your neck, shoulders and upper back will also be treated to further encourage drainage and reduce the general tension that can exacerbate the sinusitis.
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