Osteopathy is an approach to healthcare that emphasizes the role of the musculoskeletal systemin health and disease. It is practised in the United Kingdom, the rest of the European Union, Israel, Canada, and Australia. Osteopathy is not to be confused with the historically related but now distinct field, osteopathic medicine in the United States.[1]In most countries, osteopathy is a form of complementary medicine, emphasizing a holistic approach and the skilled use of a range of manual and physical treatment interventions in the prevention and treatment of disease. In practice, this most commonly relates to musculoskeletal problems such as back and neck pain. Osteopathic principles teach that treatment of the musculoskeletal system (bones, muscles and joints) facilitates the recuperative powers of the body.History
The practice of osteopathy began in the United States in 1874. The term "osteopathy" was coined by Andrew Taylor Still. Still was a free stateleader who lived near Baldwin City, Kansas at the time of the American Civil War, and it was here he developed the practice of osteopathy.[2]Still named his new school of medicine "osteopathy," reasoning that "the bone, osteon, was the starting point from which [he] was to ascertain the cause of pathological conditions."[3] Still founded the American School of Osteopathy (now A.T. Still University) in Kirksville, Missouri, for the teaching of osteopathy on May 10, 1892. While the state of Missouri, recognizing the equivalency of the curriculum, was willing to grant him a charter for awarding the MD degree, he remained dissatisfied with the limitations of conventional medicine and instead chose to retain the distinction of the DO degree.Osteopathic principles
These are the eight major principles of osteopathy and are widely taught throughout the international osteopathic community. [5]The body is a unit.Structure and function are reciprocally inter-related.The body possesses self-regulatory mechanisms.The body has the inherent capacity to defend and repair itself.When the normal adaptability is disrupted, or when environmental changes overcome the body’s capacity for self maintenance, diseasemay ensue.The movement of body fluids is essential to the maintenance of health.The nerves play a crucial part in controlling the fluids of the body.There are somatic components to disease that are not only manifestations of disease, but also are factors that contribute to maintenance of the disease state.These principles are not held by osteopathic physicians to be empirical laws; they are thought to be the underpinnings of the osteopathic philosophy on health and disease.Techniques of Osteopathic Treatment
The goal of OMM is the resolution of what many osteopaths call somatic dysfunction in an attempt to aid the body's own recuperative faculties. Osteopathic manual treatment of the musculoskeletal system employs a diverse array of techniques. These are normally employed together with dietary, postural, and occupational advice, as well as counseling in an attempt to help patients recover from illness and injury, in an attempt to minimise or manage pain and disease.
Scope of manual therapies
Osteopathy employs manual therapies for the treatment of many neuromusculoskeletal pain syndromes, such as lower back pain and tension headache, alongside exercise and other rehabilitative techniques. Many osteopaths also attempt to manage (or, more often, co-manage) organic or Type-O disorders conditions, such as asthma and middle ear infections in children,[6] menstrual pain, and pulmonary infection.take of wikipedia.org
