Jenna Mellor providing osteopathic care to help relieve back pain.
If you are looking for osteopathy in North Vancouver, you may have questions about what an osteopathic practitioner does, what conditions may be appropriate for, how an appointment works, and how osteopathy compares with physiotherapy, massage therapy, or chiropractic care.
At Active Therapy Clinic in Central Lonsdale, North Vancouver, osteopathy is part of a multidisciplinary approach that also includes physiotherapy, Registered Massage Therapy (RMT), acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rolfing Structural Integration, and other services.
Our goal is to provide individualized, hands-on care based on your symptoms, movement, health history, and goals.
What Is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a form of hands-on manual therapy that takes a whole-body approach to movement and function.
A manual osteopathic practitioner assesses how different areas of the body move and interact with one another. Treatment may involve gentle hands-on techniques directed toward muscles, fascia, joints, and other structures.
Rather than focusing only on the location where you feel pain, an osteopathic assessment may consider movement patterns, posture, mobility, previous injuries, physical activity, and other factors that may be contributing to your symptoms.
Osteopathic treatment is generally hands-on and non-invasive.
What does a manual osteopathic practitioner do?
Depending on their education, training, and scope of practice, a manual osteopathic practitioner may use techniques such as:
- Joint mobilization
Osteopathy treatment for chronic neck pain
- Soft-tissue techniques
- Myofascial techniques
- Stretching and positional techniques
- Muscle energy techniques
- Craniosacral techniques
- Visceral techniques
- Movement and posture assessment
- Education and home-care recommendations
Our osteopathic practitioners use a variety of approaches and tailor treatment to the individual rather than following exactly the same treatment protocol for every patient.
Osteopathy in British Columbia
It is important to understand that manual osteopathy is not a regulated health profession in British Columbia. Manual osteopaths / osteopathic practitioners are different from osteopathic physicians (DOs), who are medical doctors. To learn more, USE THIS LINK.
Because manual osteopathy is not regulated by a provincial health regulatory college in BC, patients should consider the practitioner’s education, training, professional association, experience, and scope of practice when choosing a practitioner.
We encourage patients to ask questions about their practitioner’s qualifications and the type of osteopathic care they provide.
What Does an Osteopath Treat?
People seek osteopathic care for many different musculoskeletal and movement-related concerns.
Common reasons people consider osteopathy include:
Osteopathic knee mobilization treatment
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Shoulder tension and discomfort
- Hip pain
- Joint stiffness
- Muscle tension
- Postural and movement-related concerns
- Sports injuries
- Chronic musculoskeletal discomfort
- Headaches associated with musculoskeletal tension
- Jaw and TMJ-related tension
- Mobility restrictions
- Recovery following physical activity or injury
- Pregnancy-related musculoskeletal discomfort
- General movement and mobility concerns
It is not appropriate for every health condition. A thorough history and assessment are important, and an osteopathic practitioner should refer you to an appropriate medical or regulated healthcare professional when your symptoms are outside their scope of practice or require medical investigation.
What Happens During an Osteopathy Appointment?
Your first appointment usually begins with a conversation about your health history and the reason you are seeking treatment.
Your practitioner may ask about:
- Your current symptoms
- When the problem started
- Previous injuries or surgeries
- Your physical activities
- Work and daily activities
- Previous treatment
- Factors that make your symptoms better or worse
- Your goals for treatment
The practitioner may then assess your posture, movement, mobility, and other relevant areas.
The assessment helps the practitioner determine an appropriate treatment approach.
What does osteopathic treatment feel like?
Treatment techniques can vary significantly depending on the practitioner and the individual’s needs.
Some techniques may involve more direct work around muscles, fascia, or joints. Other approaches may be very gentle.
Treatment is individualized rather than using one technique for every patient.
Your practitioner may also recommend movement, stretching, strengthening, breathing, ergonomic changes, or other forms of home care when appropriate.
Osteopathy vs Physiotherapy
Osteopathy and physiotherapy can overlap, but they are not the same type of care.
Physiotherapy commonly combines assessment, movement rehabilitation, exercise prescription, manual therapy, and education. Physiotherapists may treat injuries, pain, weakness, mobility limitations, and functional problems.
Osteopathy is primarily a hands-on manual therapy approach that uses a whole-body framework and may focus on relationships between different areas of the body.
For example, someone with shoulder pain may benefit from physiotherapy focused on restoring strength and movement, while osteopathic care may emphasize hands-on assessment and treatment of contributing movement restrictions.
In some situations, the approaches can complement one another.
Which should you choose?
There is no single treatment that is right for everyone.
Consider physiotherapy when your goals include:
- Rehabilitation after an injury or surgery
- Improving strength
- Restoring movement
- Exercise-based rehabilitation
- Balance or functional training
- Returning to sport
Consider osteopathy when you are particularly interested in:
- Hands-on manual treatment
- Whole-body assessment
- Mobility and movement restrictions
- Musculoskeletal tension
- A manual approach that considers relationships between different areas of the body
You do not necessarily have to choose one approach on your own. Our multidisciplinary team includes both osteopathic practitioners and physiotherapists, allowing us to recommend or coordinate different approaches when appropriate.
Osteopathy vs Chiropractic
Osteopathy and chiropractic care are both hands-on approaches, but they have different professional histories, philosophies, training pathways, and scopes of practice.
Chiropractic care in British Columbia is a regulated profession.
Manual osteopathy is not regulated by a provincial health regulatory college in BC.
Osteopathic practitioners may use a broad range of hands-on techniques involving muscles, fascia, joints, and other structures. Depending on their training, techniques may include structural, craniosacral, visceral, and other manual approaches.
When choosing any healthcare practitioner, it is important to understand their qualifications and the type of treatment they provide. If you would like to learn more about differences between Osteopathy and Chiropractic, USE THIS LINK
Who May Benefit From Osteopathy?
Treatment may be worth considering if you are experiencing:
- Persistent muscle or joint tension
- Back or neck discomfort
- Restricted mobility
- Movement limitations
- Sports-related musculoskeletal problems
- Postural concerns
- Repetitive-strain symptoms
- Headaches associated with neck or musculoskeletal tension
- General stiffness
- Recovery-related movement concerns
It may also be considered by people who prefer hands-on treatment as part of a broader approach to managing musculoskeletal symptoms.
Your practitioner will determine whether this approach is appropriate for your particular situation.
If your symptoms suggest that you need medical assessment, imaging, medication management, or another type of care, your practitioner may recommend that you see an appropriate healthcare professional.
Osteopathy for Back Pain
Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek manual therapy.
Back discomfort can have many possible contributors, including:
- Muscle tension
- Reduced mobility
- Previous injuries
- Repetitive activities
- Prolonged sitting
- Physical work
- Sports and exercise
- Changes in activity levels
- Movement patterns
An osteopathic assessment may look beyond the exact location of the pain and consider movement and mobility throughout the body.
Treatment may include hands-on work combined with advice about movement and self-care.
Patients with back pain can also access physiotherapy and RMT massage therapy. This multidisciplinary environment can be useful when different types of treatment may be appropriate at different stages of recovery.
Osteopathy for Neck Pain
Neck pain can develop after an injury, prolonged computer work, repetitive activity, exercise, poor sleep position, or other physical stresses.
An osteopathic assessment may consider:
- Neck mobility
- Upper-back movement
- Shoulder movement
- Muscle and fascial tension
- Posture
- Previous injuries
- Movement patterns
Treatment is individualized based on the assessment.
Neck pain can also be addressed through physiotherapy and RMT massage therapy, depending on the individual’s needs.
If neck pain follows a significant injury, is accompanied by neurological symptoms, or is associated with other concerning symptoms, medical assessment may be appropriate.
Osteopathy for Headaches
Some people seek osteopathic care for headaches, particularly when headaches are associated with neck or musculoskeletal tension.
An assessment may consider:
- Neck mobility
- Upper-back movement
- Jaw and TMJ tension
- Posture
- Muscle tension
- Previous injuries
- Movement patterns
Osteopathy should not be considered a substitute for medical assessment of a new, severe, unusual, or unexplained headache.
Seek urgent medical attention for a sudden severe headache or a headache accompanied by concerning neurological or systemic symptoms.
For recurring headaches, it is important to determine the underlying cause with an appropriate healthcare professional. For more information about headache, type of headaches and treatment, use THIS LINK
Pediatric Osteopathy in North Vancouver
Active Therapy also provides osteopathic care for children and infants through practitioners with additio
Pediatric treatment for back pain
nal training and experience in pediatric care.
Children are not simply smaller adults, so pediatric care requires an understanding of development, movement, and age-appropriate assessment and treatment.
At Active Therapy, Michal Kapic’s osteopathic training includes pediatric DNS courses and additional education related to infants, babies, and children. His areas of interest include developmental movement concerns and certain spinal and postural issues.
Parents may consider consulting an appropriately trained osteopathic practitioner when they have questions about a child’s movement, posture, or musculoskeletal development.
Pediatric osteopathy should be considered complementary care and should not replace assessment by a pediatrician, family physician, physiotherapist, or other regulated healthcare professional when medical or developmental concerns require it.
For more information about Osteopathic treatment for babies & children, use this
LINK
Osteopathy for Sports Injuries
North Vancouver is home to an active community of skiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers, runners, hikers, cyclists, and recreational athletes.
Sports injuries can affect muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, and movement patterns.
Osteopathy may be used as part of a broader approach to recovery from musculoskeletal injuries.
Depending on the injury, physiotherapy may also be an important part of rehabilitation, particularly when restoring strength, balance, coordination, or sport-specific function.
At Active Therapy, osteopathy and physiotherapy are available within the same multidisciplinary clinic, allowing patients to access different approaches when appropriate.
The Craniosacral Approach
Craniosacral techniques are generally gentle hands-on techniques that practitioners may incorporate into an osteopathic treatment.
Craniosacral work is one of the approaches used by our osteopathic practitioners.
The techniques are typically performed with the patient lying comfortably on a treatment table.
It is important to distinguish the experience of receiving a gentle manual therapy from claims about treating specific medical diseases. If you have a medical condition or unexplained symptoms, appropriate medical assessment should not be replaced by craniosacral or osteopathic treatment.
The Visceral Approach
Visceral manipulation is a hands-on approach that focuses on mobility and relationships involving the body’s internal structures.
Visceral techniques may be incorporated into an osteopathic assessment and treatment when the practitioner considers them appropriate.
The purpose of including visceral techniques is not to diagnose or medically treat diseases of internal organs. Rather, they are used as part of the practitioner’s manual therapy approach to movement and tissue mobility.
If you have abdominal pain, digestive symptoms, or another unexplained internal health problem, you should seek appropriate medical assessment.
The Structural Approach
Structural osteopathy generally focuses on the musculoskeletal system and may include hands-on techniques involving:
- Muscles
- Fascia
- Joints
- Connective tissue
- Mobility
- Movement patterns
Structural techniques may include soft-tissue work, fascia-focused techniques, stretching, joint mobilization, and other manual approaches depending on the practitioner and patient’s needs.
Structural treatment is individualized rather than following one fixed protocol.
How Much Does Osteopathy Cost in North Vancouver?
At Active Therapy Clinic, our current published osteopathy rates are:
60-minute initial osteopathy treatment: $180
50-minute subsequent treatment: $160
30-minute subsequent treatment: $105
These rates are current as of March 1, 2026.
Your appointment length will depend on the type of visit and your practitioner’s recommendation.
For the most current pricing, please check our Rates & Insurance page or contact the clinic before booking.
Is Osteopathy Covered by Insurance?
Osteopathy coverage varies between insurance companies and individual extended health plans.
Because manual osteopathy is not regulated in British Columbia, insurers may have specific requirements concerning the practitioner’s professional association or credentials.
Before your first appointment, we recommend contacting your insurance provider and asking:
“Does my extended health plan cover treatment from a manual osteopathic practitioner or osteopathic practitioner?”
Active Therapy offers direct billing for selected services and insurance providers, but coverage and direct-billing eligibility can vary. For osteopathy in particular, patients should confirm their individual coverage with their insurer.
If direct billing is not available, we will provide a receipt that you can submit to your insurance company.
Do I Need a Referral for Osteopathy?
Generally, you do not need a referral from your family doctor to book an appointment at Active Therapy.
You can contact the clinic directly or BOOK ONLINE
However, your insurance provider may have its own requirements. Some extended health plans may require a physician’s referral for particular benefits.
If you are unsure, check with your insurance company before your appointment.
If your symptoms require medical assessment or are outside the practitioner’s scope of practice, your osteopathic practitioner may also recommend that you see a physician or another appropriate healthcare professional.
Why Choose Active Therapy for Osteopathy in North Vancouver?
Active Therapy Clinic is a multidisciplinary health clinic located in Central Lonsdale, North Vancouver.
Our clinic brings multiple treatment approaches together under one roof, including:
- Osteopathy
- Physiotherapy
- Registered Massage Therapy
- Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Rolfing Structural Integration
- Craniosacral approaches
- BioFlex Cold Laser
Our multidisciplinary environment means that you do not necessarily have to figure out on your own which treatment is right for you.
Depending on your needs, different practitioners may work independently or as part of a coordinated approach.
Convenient Central Lonsdale location
Active Therapy Clinic is located conveniently on Lonsdale Ave & 12th street.
We serve patients from:
- Central Lonsdale
- Lower Lonsdale
- Lynn Valley
- Edgemont Village
- North Vancouver
- West Vancouver
- The North Shore and surrounding communities
Our clinic also offers online booking through Jane App.
Meet Our Osteopathic Practitioners
Michal Kapic, DOMP
Michal Kapic is an Osteopathic Practitioner and Certified Rolfer and the co-owner of Active Therapy Clinic.
His osteopathic approach incorporates a variety of techniques, including:
- Structural osteopathy
- Rolfing Structural Integration
- Joint mobilization
- Craniosacral Therapy
- Visceral Manipulation
- Neurodynamics
- Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS)
Michal also has additional training related to pediatric DNS and works with infants, babies, and children as part of his practice.
His background in sports and rehabilitation has influenced his interest in movement, injury prevention, and helping people return to the activities they enjoy.
Jenna Mellor, B.Sc., MOT
Jenna Mellor is a Manual Osteopathic Therapist with a background in kinesiology and psychology.
Before pursuing osteopathy, Jenna gained experience working in neurological physiotherapy settings.
Her practice incorporates her knowledge of anatomy, movement, and rehabilitation with individualized hands-on osteopathic care.
She commonly works with concerns including headaches and migraines, back pain, and musculoskeletal tension.
Jenna also has a background in competitive dance and running, giving her personal experience with the physical demands of athletic activity.
Osteopathy in North Vancouver: Frequently Asked Questions
Is osteopathy painful?
Osteopathic techniques vary. Some techniques may involve moderate pressure or mobilization, while others are very gentle.
Your practitioner should adjust treatment according to your comfort, health history, and individual needs.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no standard number of sessions that applies to everyone.
The number and frequency of appointments depend on your symptoms, goals, response to treatment, and the practitioner’s assessment.
Can osteopathy be combined with physiotherapy?
Yes. Osteopathy and physiotherapy can complement one another for some patients.Both services are available within the same multidisciplinary clinic.
Can I see an osteopath and an RMT?
Yes. Some patients choose to combine osteopathy and Registered Massage Therapy depending on their goals and treatment needs.
Your practitioners can help determine whether combining approaches makes sense for you.
Can children see an osteopathic practitioner?
Children may receive osteopathic care from appropriately trained practitioners.
We have practitioners with additional pediatric training and experience.
Parents should always seek appropriate medical or developmental assessment when a child has concerning symptoms or developmental concerns.
Is osteopathy the same as an osteopathic doctor?
No.
In Canada, the terms can refer to different professions. A manual osteopathic practitioner is not the same as an osteopathic physician (DO).
In British Columbia, manual osteopathy is not regulated by a provincial health regulatory college. For more information, use THIS LINK
Is osteopathy evidence-based?
Evidence varies depending on the specific osteopathic technique and the condition being treated. Some manual therapy approaches overlap with techniques used in other healthcare professions, while evidence for some specific osteopathic approaches is more limited.
At Active Therapy, we believe patients should receive clear information about what a treatment is intended to do and should be referred to an appropriate regulated healthcare professional when medical assessment is needed.
Is osteopathy covered by extended health benefits?
It depends on your individual insurance plan and the practitioner’s eligibility under that plan.
Always confirm coverage with your insurer before your first appointment.
Book Osteopathy in North Vancouver
If you are looking for an osteopath in North Vancouver, Active Therapy Clinic offers individualized osteopathic care within a multidisciplinary environment.
Whether you are dealing with back or neck discomfort, mobility limitations, sports-related concerns, headaches associated with musculoskeletal tension, or simply want to learn whether osteopathy may be appropriate for you, our team can help you determine the next step.
Phone: 604-973-1700
Book your appointment online:
https://active-therapy.janeapp.com/
For more information about osteopathy and our treatments, visit our main Osteopathy page