What is osteopathy?

The number one question I get asked when the topic comes up is: “What is osteopathy?” Shortly followed by, “I don’t know how to say that word” (it's o-stee-o-pa-thee by the way).

This is a very difficult question to answer in a 30-second schpeel so I’ll do my best. Osteopathy, as intended by Andrew Taylor Still in 1874, is a manual practice that works with the tissues of the body to encourage the self-healing mechanisms to take over. It involves fine palpation (sense of touch) of the patient’s body to assess and treat those structures that are not functioning optimally. This includes, but is not limited to, muscles, fascia, bones, joints, nerves, blood vessels and organs. Dr. Still felt that his patients had a dis-ease (pathos) in their structure (osteo), and that by manipulating these tissues in the body, he was able to have a clinical affect on their symptoms. By extensive experimentation and dissection, he explored the human body to understand the “unknowables” of human nature, and arrived at the discovery of osteopathy. 

Osteopathy, as defined by the Canadian College of Osteopathy, is: “A natural medicine which aims to restore function in the body by treating the causes of pain and imbalance. To achieve this goal the Osteopathic Manual Practitioner relies on the quality and finesse of his/her palpation and works with the position, mobility and quality of the tissues.”(For more information see www.osteopathy-canada.com)

A key component of osteopathic practice is recognizing of the nature of compensation and pain patterns in the body. This often leads to conditions where the site of pain is not necessarily the cause of the pain. The goal of a manual osteopathic practitioner is to assess the body to determine the cause of pain in order to provide the most effective treatment. The treatment progresses by addressing the most severe issues first according to osteopathic methodology. By following this methodology, a DOMP (osteopathic manual practitioner) can provide the most therapeutic effect with minimal treatment, thereby encouraging the patient’s body to take over the work and continue the therapeutic healing process on its own.