What is osteopathy?
What is osteopathy? Its definition, philosophy and fundamental principles. The philosophy of osteopathy.
Osteopathy is a science of health management based on the knowledge of the fundamental sciences: anatomy, physiology, histology, biomechanics. It represents one of the schools of scientific medicine.
Osteopathy is based on a holistic approach to the body and health of a person. Health, according to osteopathic principles, means harmony in the functional unity of the three systems: muscular-skeletal, neuro-psychic and visceral
Osteopathic treatment can be successfully combined with other methods of medical treatment.
About osteopathic medicine
Osteopathy is a "soft" treatment method done manually without using any medication. Only soft touch and very slight, hardly perceptible shifting of the tissues.
Osteopathy and traditional medicine complete one another. Osteopathy does not treat disease, but the patient. It does not fight symptoms, but looks for the cause of the pathology and removes it.
Osteopathic physician's main tools are the "feeling, thinking, seeing" fingers together with profound knowledge of anatomy, biomechanics, physiology and other scientific disciplines that allow to search for the lost health, not the disease, that help to identify the hidden original causes and, by using minimal pressure guide the body in the direction of effective utilization of its own resources.
The Body is a single unit consisting of body, mind and spirit.
The Body has a potential of self-healing, auto-regulation mechanisms and health-sustaining systems.
The Body consists of tissue structures, the form and function of which are inseparably interrelated.
Osteopathic therapy represents the synthesis of the three main principles: body-mind-spirit, activating the inherent healing capacities and the inseparable connection between the tissue structure and function.
Osteopathy is based on the thinking that a human body is one whole where structure (anatomy) and function (physiology) are inseparable and interrelated.
According to osteopathic philosophy, the body already has everything it needs in order to sustain health – one only has to awaken the inherent capacity for self-regulation. That is why osteopaths work without recurring to medication.
What techniques are used during the treatment?
As an example, manipulations with joints (thrust techniques). Here, the impulse is equal to controlled strong impact on the blocked joint. The pressure in done at a very high speed and low amplitude that allow to be very gentle with the tissue. This technique will seem familiar to patients who have previously dealt with manual therapy.
There's also a so-called "muscle energy" technique based on the principle "tension-tension relief" and used to release joints, muscles and ligaments. Myofascial release technique can remove excessive tension in the muscles and connective tissues.
Advantages of osteopathy
Light, soft and careful touch of the doctor's hands that know and feel the problem zones of the body – this is the main ingredient of an osteopathic treatment. Besides, the patient feels a relief during the treatment.
Holistic approach to the patient
For an osteopath, a human body is one whole – the unity of all systems, a delicate interrelationship of the most imperceptible things of seemingly low importance.
Safe treatment
Osteopathy is safe because the doctor will use techniques that allow no forceful impact on the body when staying within the limits of the physiological barriers of the tissues.
No surgical intervention
Osteopathy can be an alternative to surgery regarding spine diseases.
A long-lasting effect after treatment
Safe and effective treatment with a long-term and lasting result.
Substituting medication or reducing its quantities
Osteopathy can be an alternative to hormonal therapy regarding endocrine dysfunctions, to antibiotic therapy regarding the respiratory organs and long-term gynecological inflammations.
History of Osteopathy
The history of osteopathy started a little more than a hundred years ago in the United States of America. Its founder, Andrew Taylor Still, was a doctor working in a distant countryside area, who had to deal with many of his patients' diseases, including the most complicated cases. He himself had to live through a terrible tragedy - the death of his wife and sons during one of the epidemics.
Being deeply disappointed in the possibilities offered my modern medical science, Still started to look for an alternative approach to the treatment of diseases, or to be more precise, a way to the health through the knowledge of anatomy and structure. He called this approach osteopathy. That's how a new independent and forward-looking trend in medicine was born.
In 1882 Dr.Still founded the first osteopathic school in the States and in the world located in Kirksville. In 1918 Dr.Littlejohn, a student of doctor Still, founded the first European osteopathic school in England.
In the 60s doctor F.Peyralade opened the first osteopathic school in France. Today, there are many osteopathic schools in the USA, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Russia, Latvia, Israel, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina.
In Latvia, the development of osteopathy started in the 90s
What can be treated with osteopathy?
As any branch of medicine osteopathy may be chosen as the main and only method of treatment, as well as an additional method in a complex set of medical treatment.
Osteopaths do not treat the dysfunction present in the body at any given moment. They treat the patient as a whole facilitating the state of optimal health. With this approach, every patient is unique and requires examination in all his/her multifaceted wholeness. This is why osteopathic medicine helps at any age and at any stage of life – from the moment of conception and birth till old age.
People tend to think that osteopathic treatment is used for degenerative disc and bone diseases, back pain, headaches of different origins. But osteopathy has a much wider scope of application. It includes neurology, orthopedics, traumatology, sports medicine, neonatology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal diseases, etc. Osteopathy plays a very important role in disease prevention.
Some situations where osteopathic treatment can be helpful:
Consequences of birth trauma (perinatal encephalopathy)
Sleep disturbances
Retardation of psychomotor and speech development (alalia, dysarthria, some form of stammering)
Behavior problems in children (hyperactivity, temper tantrums, hysterics)
Learning problems (memory disorders, attention deficit, dysgraphia, dyslexia)
Tics and other neurosis-like conditions
Vision disorders (some forms of myopia, amblyopia, astigmatism)
Postural disorders and scoliosis
Occlusion disorders
Allergies (some forms of vasomotor rhinitis and bronchial asthma)
Frequent cold-related diseases (adenoiditis, otitis, sinusitis etc.)
Enuresis
Hip dysplasia
Platypodia
Headaches
Back aches and pain in the joints
Degenerative disc disease
Radiculitis
Trauma consequences
Vegetovascular dystonia
Inner organ diseases (gastritis, duodenitis, biliary dyskinesia, cholecystitis, cystitis etc.)
Some forms of female infertility
Dysmenorrhea, algomenorrhea
Prostatitis etc.
Mental and physical retardation
ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder)
Cerebral palsy in children
Spastic torticollis
Postural disorders (scoliosis, kyphoscoliosis)
Enuresis and encopresis
Other indications:
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Low immunity
Varicose veins
Spread fibromyalgia (muscle pain)
Diseases related to chronic venous congestion in the lesser pelvis and in the inferior vena cava system: hemorrhoid, non-infectious (aseptic) prostatitis and salpingo oophoritis
Meteosensitivity
Chronic diseases
Osteopathy is effective in treatment of chronic diseases. As a rule, conventional medicine treats the effect. Osteopaths proceed from the fact that a human body is one whole. Any disturbance in the work of one organ (system) may lead to disturbances in the work of other organs and systems. Therefore, it's important to find and remove the original cause of the disease. However, the cause of some diseases can be very far from the sick organ itself. That way, the reason of chronic headaches may lie in a long-forgotten trauma of the coccyx. And back pain may result from the wrong kidney position. The doctor will treat not only the sick organ, but the whole body. That way, osteopathic treatment stimulates protective powers of the body, inciting it to recur to its own reserves.
Visit to an osteopath
In order to have a doctor appointment you don't have to have a referral from your family doctor. An oral or written recommendation is quite sufficient.
Getting an appointment can also be your personal decision. However, if any of our doctors considers that osteopathic treatment might not be beneficial for you at the moment, or that you need to run more tests and consult other doctors, you will get a detailed recommendation.
List of certified osteopaths