What is osteopathy?
Osteopathic medicine is truly holistic. The patient is assessed and treated as a whole person. It was developed using precise knowledge of the body, its workings and the mechanics behind it.
The body is, under normal circumstances, able to cope with most forms of illness and stress. An osteopath sets out to restore normal function of the body; therefore leading to good health. There are a large number and variety of techniques used by osteopaths and individual osteopaths may or may not use all of them. An osteopath is defined as a practitioner who adheres to the osteopathic principles, which are as follows:
• Structure and function are integrally related. Restrictions in the body cause dysfunction and disease.
• If there is a good supply of oxygenated blood to an organ or tissue and free drainage from it, it will be healthy.
• The body has its own medicine cabinet and an in-depth knowledge of this allows a practitioner to promote health in any disease. The best drugs for the treatment of any disease are already within the patient’s immune system.
• The body is a unit.
Osteopathy provides a safe, natural and non-invasive treatment tailored to the individual patient. The treatment is based on the relationship the structures and systems of the body have with each other and the effect they have on the overall function of the person.
There exists a common misconception that osteopathic theories are not scientifically valid or are poorly researched. In fact there is a huge amount of research that substantiates the osteopathic approach, and statistics show its consistent level of successful outcomes and patient satisfaction.
Still not sure?
There is, unfortunately, no obvious catch phrase that sums up osteopathy and what it is, so it is easier to talk about what osteopaths do. At the colleges of osteopathy throughout the world, students are trained in great detail about anatomy, physiology, pathology, bio-mechanics, medical history and theory. In fact, everything that makes the body a body. The adage that "you are more than just the sum of your body parts" is well known and overused throughout the training.
From this, the osteopathic philosophies are drawn. The emphasis on internal relationships of structure and function, with an appreciation of the body's ability to heal itself, is the key. It is the focus on "wellness" not “illness” that Dr Still pioneered 150 years ago, and it is of growing importance in today's world where personal health risks — such as smoking, high blood pressure, excessive cholesterol levels, stress, sedentary work and other lifestyle factors — are increasingly coming between individuals and their health.
Osteopaths are helping people to take more responsibility for their own well-being through changing unhealthy patterns. They are pioneering a holistic approach to modern medicine. Where pharmaceutical companies are now looking for a chemical cure for the common cold, osteopaths recognise that the best drugs for treating this, and indeed any illness, are already contained within a vast arsenal of the immune system. These natural drugs are purer than anything that can be synthesized in laboratories, the correct dose and with beneficial side effects.
As osteopaths, we endeavor to discover what is preventing the body from its natural, healthy response to stimuli and then remove that restriction. In the study of health and disease, no individual body part can be considered autonomous. The problems of promoting health and treating disease can only be considered by studying the whole person in relation to both their internal and external environments. As “your biography becomes your biology”, osteopathy aims to remove the physical remnants of your past. This allows individuals to be physically in the ‘now’ and unrestricted, letting the body give all its energy to the task at hand and not into compensating for accidents or trauma that happened yester-year.
What does an osteopath do?
On your first visit to an osteopath, a thorough case history will be taken followed by an in-depth evaluation of the structures of your body. The safety and precision of the treatment is ensured by the detailed medical history. A full body examination will be performed because it is important to asses the function and effect that all the structures, however distant, have on the painful area.
An osteopath may initially focus on the musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones and connective tissues), which reflects and influences the condition of all other body systems and makes up about two-thirds of the body's mass.
An osteopath helps the body heal itself by initially diagnosing the cause and nature of the complaint and then using manual techniques to address the structures involved in the dis-ease, pain or illness.
Osteopaths use their eyes and hands to identify structural problems that are preventing the body's natural tendency towards health and self-healing. Treatment is adjusted to the requirements of the individual and is aimed at improving whole body function.
Before treatment, an osteopath will explain to you their findings from both the case history and physical examination, helping you to understand the diagnosis. The osteopath will form a treatment plan with you.
The basis for a successful treatment lies in the art of palpation (touch), which in the hands of a skillful practitioner is effective, painless, exact and safe.
Osteopaths are primary care providers, medically trained and can differentially diagnose. This involves examinations, including the cardiovascular, neurological and respiratory systems and reading medical imaging such as X-rays and MRI scans.
A whole-istic treatment includes addressing the development of the patient’s attitudes and lifestyle that do not just fight pain or illness, but help prevent and resolve them.
“An osteopath might be likened to an engineer, a watch-smith of the organism, who not only evaluates and treats the causes of dysfunction, but also verifies preventively all the necessary mechanisms and systems of our physiology, which rule the balance and health of a Human Being.”
Philippe Druelle, D.O. President of the Canadian College of Osteopathy
Osteopathic medicine is truly holistic. The patient is assessed and treated as a whole person. It was developed using precise knowledge of the body, its workings and the mechanics behind it.
The body is, under normal circumstances, able to cope with most forms of illness and stress. An osteopath sets out to restore normal function of the body; therefore leading to good health. There are a large number and variety of techniques used by osteopaths and individual osteopaths may or may not use all of them. An osteopath is defined as a practitioner who adheres to the osteopathic principles, which are as follows:
• Structure and function are integrally related. Restrictions in the body cause dysfunction and disease.
• If there is a good supply of oxygenated blood to an organ or tissue and free drainage from it, it will be healthy.
• The body has its own medicine cabinet and an in-depth knowledge of this allows a practitioner to promote health in any disease. The best drugs for the treatment of any disease are already within the patient’s immune system.
• The body is a unit.
Osteopathy provides a safe, natural and non-invasive treatment tailored to the individual patient. The treatment is based on the relationship the structures and systems of the body have with each other and the effect they have on the overall function of the person.
There exists a common misconception that osteopathic theories are not scientifically valid or are poorly researched. In fact there is a huge amount of research that substantiates the osteopathic approach, and statistics show its consistent level of successful outcomes and patient satisfaction.
Still not sure?
There is, unfortunately, no obvious catch phrase that sums up osteopathy and what it is, so it is easier to talk about what osteopaths do. At the colleges of osteopathy throughout the world, students are trained in great detail about anatomy, physiology, pathology, bio-mechanics, medical history and theory. In fact, everything that makes the body a body. The adage that "you are more than just the sum of your body parts" is well known and overused throughout the training.
From this, the osteopathic philosophies are drawn. The emphasis on internal relationships of structure and function, with an appreciation of the body's ability to heal itself, is the key. It is the focus on "wellness" not “illness” that Dr Still pioneered 150 years ago, and it is of growing importance in today's world where personal health risks — such as smoking, high blood pressure, excessive cholesterol levels, stress, sedentary work and other lifestyle factors — are increasingly coming between individuals and their health.
Osteopaths are helping people to take more responsibility for their own well-being through changing unhealthy patterns. They are pioneering a holistic approach to modern medicine. Where pharmaceutical companies are now looking for a chemical cure for the common cold, osteopaths recognise that the best drugs for treating this, and indeed any illness, are already contained within a vast arsenal of the immune system. These natural drugs are purer than anything that can be synthesized in laboratories, the correct dose and with beneficial side effects.
As osteopaths, we endeavor to discover what is preventing the body from its natural, healthy response to stimuli and then remove that restriction. In the study of health and disease, no individual body part can be considered autonomous. The problems of promoting health and treating disease can only be considered by studying the whole person in relation to both their internal and external environments. As “your biography becomes your biology”, osteopathy aims to remove the physical remnants of your past. This allows individuals to be physically in the ‘now’ and unrestricted, letting the body give all its energy to the task at hand and not into compensating for accidents or trauma that happened yester-year.
What does an osteopath do?
On your first visit to an osteopath, a thorough case history will be taken followed by an in-depth evaluation of the structures of your body. The safety and precision of the treatment is ensured by the detailed medical history. A full body examination will be performed because it is important to asses the function and effect that all the structures, however distant, have on the painful area.
An osteopath may initially focus on the musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones and connective tissues), which reflects and influences the condition of all other body systems and makes up about two-thirds of the body's mass.
An osteopath helps the body heal itself by initially diagnosing the cause and nature of the complaint and then using manual techniques to address the structures involved in the dis-ease, pain or illness.
Osteopaths use their eyes and hands to identify structural problems that are preventing the body's natural tendency towards health and self-healing. Treatment is adjusted to the requirements of the individual and is aimed at improving whole body function.
Before treatment, an osteopath will explain to you their findings from both the case history and physical examination, helping you to understand the diagnosis. The osteopath will form a treatment plan with you.
The basis for a successful treatment lies in the art of palpation (touch), which in the hands of a skillful practitioner is effective, painless, exact and safe.
Osteopaths are primary care providers, medically trained and can differentially diagnose. This involves examinations, including the cardiovascular, neurological and respiratory systems and reading medical imaging such as X-rays and MRI scans.
A whole-istic treatment includes addressing the development of the patient’s attitudes and lifestyle that do not just fight pain or illness, but help prevent and resolve them.
“An osteopath might be likened to an engineer, a watch-smith of the organism, who not only evaluates and treats the causes of dysfunction, but also verifies preventively all the necessary mechanisms and systems of our physiology, which rule the balance and health of a Human Being.”
Philippe Druelle, D.O. President of the Canadian College of Osteopathy
