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Services
At Soma Osteopathy & Wellness in Courtenay, BC, we offer a collaborative, patient-centered approach to care. Our experienced team of osteopathic practitioners, manual therapists, and wellness professionals provides a range of therapeutic services, including Osteopathy, Registered Massage Therapy (RMT), Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Foundation Training.
Each treatment is tailored to support your unique needs, whether you're recovering from an injury, managing chronic pain, relieving stress, or working to improve mobility and overall well-being. Located in the Comox Valley, we’re here to help you move and feel better - naturally.
Osteopathy
Restore optimum health and balance
Osteopathy is a holistic healthcare approach that focuses on the interconnectedness of the body's structure and function. As Osteopathic practitioners we believe that the body has an innate ability to heal itself when in proper alignment. We use a hands-on, manual approach to assess, treat, and help prevent a wide range of health issues.
As Osteopathic practitioners we consider the musculoskeletal system, including the bones, muscles, and joints, as well as the nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems, to be integral components of a person's overall health.
We utilise a diverse range of techniques, including mobilisation of specific joints and soft tissues, gentle manipulation of the musculoskeletal, visceral, and cranial systems, along with stretching, massage, and soft tissue methods. Our objective is to enhance joint mobility, alleviate muscular tension, reduce pain, restore balance, and improve overall flexibility to ensure the optimal functioning of your body as a whole.
The principles of osteopathy emphasise the importance of treating not just symptoms but also the underlying causes of health issues, making it a comprehensive and patient-centered approach to wellness.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) & Acupuncture
Chinese medicine recognizes that the body, mind, spirit, and environment are deeply interconnected. Through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), seemingly unrelated symptoms, emotions, and experiences are understood as part of meaningful patterns - offering insight, clarity, and support. Treatment focuses on restoring balance in qì (vital energy), Blood (xuè), and body fluids (jīn yè) to both prevent and treat disease, drawing on practices known as the eight branches of Chinese medicine.
At Soma, our registered TCM practitioner most commonly uses the following practices:
Acupuncture & Moxibustion (zhēn jiǔ) – A Japanese style of acupuncture, which is a gentle technique using very fine, single-use needles, ideal for sensitive folks. Moxibustion is a warming therapy that improves circulation and eases pain by burning mugwort on or near the surface of the skin.
Manual Therapies – Cupping (bá guàn), scraping (guā shā), and Chinese therapeutic massage (tuī ná) are non-invasive techniques that release muscle and fascial tension, increase blood flow, reduce stagnation, and have traditionally been used for pain, colds/flus, and lung conditions.
Chinese Herbal Medicine (zhōng yào xué) – Individualized formulas are prescribed for acute and chronic patterns, using high-quality herbs sourced from Spring Winds. Herbs are freshly ground into powders and dispensed as teas for cost-effective dosing.
Shí Liáo – diet therapy rooted in TCM theory, considering one’s relationship to food, body, environment, and social aspects.
Sessions often include questions about your health history, along with a physical assessment through pulse-taking, tongue observation, and palpation of acupuncture meridians. TCM is a wholistic approach that aims to restore the natural flow of qì and Blood, addressing both immediate symptoms and the underlying root causes. Since the acupuncture meridians connect and communicate with the organs, tissues, and bones - and respond to emotions and the environment - TCM can support a wide range of physical and mental health concerns for people of all ages.
RMT Massage Therapy
At Soma Osteopathy and Wellness in Courtenay, our team of Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs) provides personalized, evidence-informed care to support your health and healing. Whether you're dealing with chronic pain, recovering from an injury, or simply looking to reduce stress and tension, massage therapy can help restore balance to both body and mind.
Our RMTs use a variety of hands-on techniques to reduce muscle tightness, improve circulation, and promote overall well-being. Techniques may include deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, stretching and instrument-assisted soft tissue release (IASTM). Each session is tailored to your unique needs and goals - whether that’s pain relief, increased mobility, or deep relaxation.
Located in the heart of the Comox Valley, Soma offers a calm, professional environment where you can feel confident in your care. If you’ve been looking for experienced massage therapy or an RMT near you, we’re here to help you move and feel your best.
Foundation Training
Provided by our RMT Heather
Foundation Training is a movement practice designed to restore the body’s natural order and put you at the centre of your health. It teaches your body how to properly support itself and move as nature intended. It was developed by chiropractor Dr Eric Goodman to heal his chronic back pain and avoid surgery for multiple disc herniations. This program is not a temporary fix but rather a systematic solution that gives you the means to change the way you move and correct the imbalances caused by our modern habits.
Through a series of movements, intentional poses and conscious breathing work, Foundation Training activates your posterior muscle chain, anchors the hips, decompresses the spine, and teaches you to take the burden of supporting the body out of your joints and put it where it belongs; in your muscles. When practiced regularly your pain diminishes, your resistance to injury increases and your body come to life. No matter your age or your fitness level, Foundation Training is a movement practice that teaches the body to adapt with muscular support rather than compensate with compressed joints. It can help you correct poor postural habits by decompressing the body to make space for healthier movement patterns.
What to except at a 30 min session.
At an initial Foundation Training (FT) session we will discuss where you are feeling mobility limitations or pain in your body so that we can start with the appropriate movement poses. My experience as a Registered Massage Therapist allows me to bring my understanding of the mechanics of the body and pain referral patterns to help select the appropriate Foundation Training movements to teach you. No fancy equipment is needed and all exercises are done barefoot on a yoga mat wearing stretchy clothes you can comfortably move in. There are a variety of poses that can be done lying down, kneeling or standing but we will start with only a few so you can practice at home before adding more. The principles of FT involve decompression Breathing to expand the ribcage, Anchoring by creating stability in the pelvis and hip joints supporting the spine and Integrating the movements to reinforce a healthy posture and patterns of movement found in activities of daily life. The FT routine can be a short as 5-10 minutes and done anywhere anytime however the key to success is committing to a daily practice for the body to move well, live well.
Learn more at : foundationtraining.com/
Have Questions?
Not a worry, we've set up an FAQ page for just that reason!
And if you are still unsure about something, please email the clinic at contact@soma-osteopathy.com