Did you recently receive a letter from Manulife or Sunlife regarding changes to your osteopathy coverage? The following information applies to you:

If your extended health insurance plan includes osteopathy services (typically referred to as "osteopath benefit") then receipts from all of the Osteopathic Manual Practitioners at Ottawa Osteopathy & Sports Therapy will be accepted for reimbursement, according to your plan's policies.  All of our Osteopathic Manual Practitioners are members of the Ontario Association of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners (OAO).  In the province of Ontario, the OAO has the highest educational and professional requirements for membership, and as such it is recognized by all insurance companies offering coverage for osteopathy services.

How is Osteopathy regulated in Ontario? Do all osteopathic manual practitioners follow the same educational training?

Osteopathy is not regulated in the province of Ontario, so it is important to verify the professional training of the practitioner you are seeing. The Ontario Association of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners, (OAO), promotes the highest standard of osteopathic education and training, as well as the highest, safest standard of ethical, osteopathic practice in the province.

The OAO adheres to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) established minimum criteria for professional training to safely and effectively deliver osteopathic services. They are as follows:

• 4200 hours of professional training/education

• 1000 hours of supervised practice (included in 4200 hours)

At Ottawa Osteopathy & Sports Therapy, all of our osteopathic manual practitioners are members in good standing with the OAO and follow the WHO criteria.

Are all osteopathic manual practitioners the same?

No. Some osteopathic educational programs graduate their students with significantly less training than recommended by the WHO. As a result, they have a smaller set of treatment protocols and techniques but may still use the term osteopathy.

A prerequisite for entry into the osteopathy program recognized by the OAO is a degree in science (physiotherapy, athletic therapy, massage therapy, etc) or equivalent. The combined education of the degree in science and the professional diploma in osteopathy allows for a deeper understanding of pathophysiology (injury causes) and a larger number of manual therapy skills & treatment techniques.

All of our osteopathic manual practitioners possess both a prerequisite degree in science (physiotherapy, athletic therapy, etc.) and have completed the OAO-required osteopathic education, giving them the highest educational standards in the province of Ontario.


 Note: Osteopathic manual practitioners are not medical doctors. For any medical emergency please consult your physician or visit your nearest emergency room.

(For physicians and nurse practitioners only)

As part of our commitment to providing the most up-to-date evidence-based spine assessments, we are once again offering this continuing education course to Ottawa physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians in the sport medicine community, and the sport medicine fellows completing the University of Ottawa Sport and Exercise Medicine Program.

This course is being offered to create a greater understanding of effective spine assessments and best-practice treatment planning. While the focus is a sport medicine setting, the mechanical tests presented will apply to many conditions seen in the general population.

There is no fee for this course. This course may be submitted for noncertified Mainpro credits and this course is not sponsored by any pharmaceutical companies or affiliate.

Date:                                            

Friday, March 24^th, 2023: 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Cost:                                            

There is no course fee. This seminar is free for physicians and nurse practitioners.

Presenter:

Richard Gregory, CAT(C), D.O.M.P., R.Kin
Certified Athletic Therapist, Osteopathic Manual Practitioner, Registered Kinesiologist. (Read more about the presenter here)

Course Description:

This hands-on presentation will review the relevant anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of spine conditions (including: disc degeneration, osseous foramenal/canal stenosis, acquired foramenal/canal stenosis, vertebral instability, spondylolisthesis/spondylolysis, intra-discal nerve ingrowth, end plate fracture, etc.) We will review pain types associated with each condition and identify key questions for the history taking. Visual and practical presentations will demonstrate the appropriate in-clinic special tests related to each pathology. Discussion of each test will include the relative specificity, reliability and validity as they pertain to the different spine pathologies. There will be time for questions and case studies.  Printed handouts and a digital copy of the presentation will be provided.

There will be discussion of the limitation of supine conventional vs loaded functional MRI. Participants will learn evidence based assessment protocols to guide treatment planning with or without imaging.  

Course Objectives:

Give participants a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisims of mechanical back pain.

Identify key questions to ask during the history taking.

Learn to quickly recognize dysfunctional curves in spinal segments and significant movement limitations during clinic visits.

Formulate an index of suspicion/differential diagnosis in a shorter period of time.

Provide a range of management options for patients including evidence-based self-help books, clinic referral resources and in-person rehabilitation.

Reduce unnecessary imaging requests, emergency room visits, and use of the out-dated term “non-specific low back pain”.

Registration is full.

If you have questions about this course, or would like to register for a wait list, please email .

About Our Clinic:

Ottawa Osteopathy & Sports Therapy is currently looking for a full-time registered massage therapist to join our growing and dedicated team. We're a fun group that's serious about evidence-based practice. We are looking for the right candidate to start as soon as possible. We currently have the demand for a full-time RMT practice load working along side five osteopathic manual practitioners, three physiotherapists and a kinesiologist.

Over the last 14 years, our clinic has built a well-respected reputation within the Ottawa community. We have established relationships with family practitioners, multi-practitioner medical clinics, sport medicine physicians, allied health care practitioners and have a very large referral base of over 12,000 patients.

The clinic staff are involved with educational programming with the University of Ottawa’s Sport and Exercise Medicine Program (teaching spine assessment in sport medicine and precepting for osteopathy and physiotherapy) and have spoken at provincial/national/international medical and allied health conferences. Additionally, our staff have been part of many Canadian medical teams in High Performance Sport for national and international events.

Working within a multidisciplinary treatment model, we encourage collateral learning from other practitioners and hold in-clinic, all-staff meetings to review recent research, manual therapy techniques and assessment protocols. Our practice provides quality, personalized services in the areas of injury prevention, treatment and improved performance in sport. A significant portion of our patients also consult for chronic pain, post-surgical rehabilitation and concussions among the usual orthopedic musculoskeletal conditions.

Our in-clinic and virtual services include physiotherapy, osteopathy, athletic therapy, massage therapy, kinesiology, running assessments/gait corrections, running injury prevention, pre-post-natal care, dance medicine and strength and conditioning.

What We Offer:

We offer a flexible schedule, a base salary package for out of town applicants, remuneration commensurate with skills and experience, an educational allowance, support and guidance for continuing education, and a rare opportunity to refine your manual skills. We have a well-established demand for massage therapy based on 10 years of high quality service and relationship building with referrers.

We have private treatment rooms, high quality adjustable tables, a rehabilitation gym, and a full service reception to handle scheduling, billing and provide administrative support. We have online booking and our clinic uses electronic medical records.

Our goal is to help you become the most effective therapist possible by guiding and supporting your professional growth. The successful candidate would be surrounded by experienced professionals with expertise in manual and manipulative therapies, movement assessment and exercise prescription.

The Ideal Candidate:

You have a passion for learning and enjoy helping patients live better lives. You are self-motivated, have the habit of educating patients and providing quality, personalized treatments. You have the ability to foster lasting relationships with patients and repeat referrers. You bring a positive attitude to work and respect your colleagues.

We require up-to-date registration with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario. Some experience working with  sport injuries would be ideal but is not required.

If you have questions about the position, feel free to get in touch. You can read more about our clinic at www.ottawaosteopath.com.

To apply, send your CV and cover letter to Richard Gregory at .

We look forward to hearing from you.

We are pleased to announce that Shauna Ironside will be returning from maternity leave in September!

Beginning September 19th, Shauna will be available for appointments:

Mondays from 8:00am - 3:00pm

Wednesdays from 12:00pm - 6:45pm

She will be gradually increasing her schedule in the future. In an effort to accommodate her existing patients, her appointments will initially be reserved for returning patients, though she will be opening her schedule to new patients in the future. If you would like to be added to her new patient wait list, please email us or call us at (613) 521-3222. We will inform you once she has started accepting new patients. 

We are very excited to have her back with the OOST team, and she is looking forward to treating again and seeing some familiar faces!

Call us at (613) 521-3222 to book your appointment with Shauna!