What is Osteopathy ?
Osteopathy is a science, an art and a philosophy of health, cooperating with the natural laws of healing - that is, freedom to the flow of blood, and other fluids and forces, through order and alignment of all parts of the human body.
Osteopathy is fundamentally a communication, between the tissues, parts, fluids and forces of the body; their memory, intelligence, inherent motility and order, and the Osteopaths hands and senses.
Through studying normal the osteopath finds cause for disease in miss-alignments and displacements, tensions and restrictions to function from old falls, slips and strains, that often happen long before the body’s ability to compensate and heal becomes compromised.
The more complicated explanation!
Dr Andrew Taylor Still discovered the science and principles of Osteopathy in Kansas, America in 1855 and his success at treating disease were such that Osteopathy has grown to become practiced and taught world wide.
“Osteopathy is based on the perfection of Nature’s work. When all parts of the human body are in line we have health. When they are not the effect is disease. When the parts are readjusted disease gives place to health.
The work of the osteopath is to adjust the body from the abnormal to the normal; then the abnormal condition gives place to the normal and health is the result of the normal condition.” - Research and Practice; A T Still D.O.
Science, Art, Philosophy
Thinking Osteopathy: Fundamentally Osteopathy is a way of understanding the function and nature of life in our patients. A way of thinking that allows us to have a relationship to the function of the ‘machinery of life’; the human body.
Osteopathy is a science because it is grounded by a foundation of anatomical and physiological knowledge of man / woman in health and disease.
Osteopathy is an art. The skills necessary to communicate with the living anatomy in our patients and to interpret symptoms and conditions and their cause is a life time of practice. An art that is learned through practice but also through mentorship and guidance from a lineage of teachers.
Foundations
The Foundations on which the science and principles of osteopathic practice are based are truths of nature.
Wholeness. Man is a complete being of life. We get sick as a whole and we heal as a whole person. Each part, form, system in the body is an expression of the whole and functions in harmony with the whole to promote healthy living.
Perfect blood in time and on time maintains health. A change to the normal flow of any of the bodies circulations, but especially healthy blood, is the beginning of disease. The osteopaths job is to find and remove any restriction to normal circulation.
Laws of Nature
‘To obtain good results, we must blend ourself with and travel in harmony with Nature’s truths.’- A T Still.
Order and Health. When all the parts are in their proper places then we have order and health. An osteopaths role is to adjust the forms and parts of man to their proper places to restore order.
Disorder and disease. Through anatomical derangement - falls, strains, jars, environmental shocks etc our body’s ability to maintain health is compromised. The effects can be far reaching and seemingly distant to the symptoms or condition our patients present with. By correcting the anatomical derangements however slight they might be; restoring order, healing and better health are the result.
Principles of Osteopathy
The mechanical principles of osteopathy govern how we understand and interpret the living anatomy in our patients.
The form of all the organs and bones and parts of the machinery of living man must be so thoroughly known (Anatomy and Physiology) that their places, methods of attachment to each other, their purpose and function in life and health are clear. Then the Osteopath can distinguish between normal and abnormal alignment, forces, or function when altered by jars or falls or shocks.
When all parts are in their proper places and the forces and laws of Nature are free to function normally we have health.