What is osteopathy?
People aren't familiar with osteopathy and they often think that osteopath are bone doctors, thats the understandable assumption because the word osteopathy is made from two roots the word “osteo”- from the Greek, which means - bone and “pathos”- from the Latin, which can mean - suffering or disease.
A.T. Still named it this way in the late 1880. A.T. Still was a 19 century physician and surgeon, he learned art and skill of bone setting in Missouri and Kansas. Bone setting originally was an European tradition of healing, based upon manipulation of the bones. We don't know who taught him bone setting, but he used this rudimentary techniques as the foundation of what later was called osteopathy. He begun with the bones, but he didn’t end there, he evolved. He found, that the study of bones let him to learn every detail of everything that attached to all of those bones, all of the structures that ran over and around those bones, and all of their attachments, until he had explored every inch of the body. Bones are the scaffolding of our body and form the reference point of our understanding. He acknowledged the connection of the study of anatomy to the esoteric mysteries of the body. He began with the bones, and he ended with a sense of wholeness, what he called - connective oneness.
A osteopaths, we examine the morphology and the physiology of the body as a method to diagnose and treat the way the body operates. Our treatment establishes an environment that fosters the self-healing capacities of the body. Osteopathy frequently employs the musculoskeletal system as an entry point to the body, but we do not merely attend to issues with bones, joints, muscles and other connective tissues. We also address all the systems and functions of the body through our manual treatment.
What distinguishes osteopathy is our recognition that freedom of motion is essential to health and wellness, and the ability to heal or creatively adapt to illness, injury, or the effect of aging.
In my practice, I address movement of all tissues, fluids, spaces, thoughts, and emotions. Osteopathic philosophy, rather than a specific treatment technique, guides the way the osteopath assesses and treats their patients.
What is osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)?
Is the unique form of manual or manipulative medicine used by osteopaths around the world. OMT is not a technique but is the application of a clinical philosophy based on osteopathic principles. Osteopathic manipulation is most commonly applied to the neuromuscular skeletal system, the nerves, muscles, bones and connective tissues, but it is also used to treat the problems of viscera, circulation, lymphatics and extracellular fluids.
Osteopathic manipulation treats somatic dysfunction or abnormal functions of any aspect of the body or soma. Abnormal functions occur all the time in humans of every age. Most of the time, the body's natural, therapeutic actions correct, restore or heal disease, illness, or injuries.
When the body's healing actions are blocked, the specific application of osteopathic manipulation can remove the physical obstructions, allowing for normalisation of function.
The goal of osteopathic manipulation is not to fix the body, but to create an environment that encourages a natural therapeutic process.
Osteopaths are not specifically trained to handle mental health issues, but we consider thoughts, emotions, cognitive state, and the general mental health of the patient.
Osteopathy is not a technique but the application of a clinical philosophy. Osteopathic manipulation is not performed in isolation from osteopathic philosophy and osteopathic principles, which are:
The body is a unit. The person is the unit of body mind and spirit.
The body is capable of self regulation, self healing and health maintenance.
Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
Rational treatment is based on an understanding of the basic principles of body, unity, self regulation, and the interrelationship of structure and function.