Physical Health is considered one of the three vital pillars of Naturopathy. The concept includes the structural integrity of the body. A healthy body is a strong and supple body, it is one where the spine is aligned and has good freedom of movement. The muscles are toned (but not overly so) and they are not too tense. The ligaments are strong and the bones are well aligned. Physical tension and spinal misalignments can lead to pain and discomfort but can also be an obstacle to the proper functioning of your whole body. Nerves which exit the spine from between the vertebra can be affected by localised inflammation or misalignment, and this can create a problem for the tissues to which those nerves travel. This can be a factor in many health conditions. Many UK Naturopaths are trained to give you ‘hands on’ or physical treatments to help with these sorts of problems. These treatments are personalised to resolve your specific structural issues in an holistic way, that is, the local area of pain or discomfort may not be the cause of the problem: treatment may also include distant areas which may be referring pain to an apparently unrelated area, or may be causing a structural imbalance leading to overuse of a muscle or joint elsewhere. Physical treatment can also be used for relaxation, and may include breathing exercises, for example.
