Osteopathic approach
Principles
The osteopathic approach – treatment, but also prevention.
Osteopathy seeks to optimize the functioning of the body and preserve health. Osteopaths consider that the human body forms a whole, which must not simply be ‘cut into small pieces’ (for example, into ‘an ankle’, ‘a neck’ or ‘a shoulder’), for any treatment.
Since the osteopath considers that the body forms a global entity, it follows that the place in the body where the symptoms appear may be different from that which generates the problem. There is a continuity of the body’s tissues and a balance of tensions exerted on the body. Therefore, if abnormal tension is found in one of the tissues, it is likely to be reflected and transmitted to the other tissues. The place where pain occurs may just be the weak link in the individual’s chain of tissues.
The osteopath considers that the body is capable of facing daily challenges as long as there are no barriers to mobility (be they at joints, in muscles, ligaments, organs in the circulation of blood, lymphatic fluid or nerve signals).
For whom ?
Osteopathy can benefit everyone, from infance to old age, including pregnant women
Diagnosis
An osteopathic diagnosis is made by analysing the information provided including:
• The description of your pain; how and when it appeared.
• Your medical history
• Your profession
• Your lifestyle and your hobbies.
All of these elements help the osteopath to understand the forces and constraints that have been imposed on your body.
Osteopathic and possibly medical tests may be carried out.
Palpation of painful areas of the body and those related to them. Palpation is the supreme tool of the osteopath. It allows the osteopath to identify dysfunctions in the body’s mobility through touch.
REMINDER that the goal of the osteopath is to prevent or remedy functional disorders of the human body and therefore to limit the risks of their recurrence
Treatment
Osteopathic treatment mobilizes the body’s natural defenses.
Osteopaths practice direct and indirect musculoskeletal and myofacial manipulations and mobilizations. These manipulations are applied precisely, and their success is in no way linked to the use of excessive force. Some osteopathic techniques (including cranial osteopathy) are extremely gentle, but are also powerful. The treatment protocol and therefore the choice of techniques used, is adapted to each patient , following the established diagnosis, and it is modified according to the age and morphology of the patient. This means that two individuals can have two completely different treatments, even if they are both complaining of symptoms that appear similar, once their personal and medical histories have been taken into account.
Successful osteopathic treatment may reduce or eliminate the need for some medication and can sometimes preclude or delay the need for surgical procedures. The osteopath prefers tries to mobilize the body’s natural defence mechanisms.
How many sessions
The number of sessions required will depend entirely on your osteopathic diagnosis, your pain and how long you have had it, as well as your lifestyle and medical history. Your osteopath will discuss your treatment plan with you from the first session. To give a general idea, one to three treatments may be enough to treat a new or recent problem, for someone who is in good health. On the other hand, remedying or alleviating long-standing problems may require more treatment. It may even be preferable for you to see your osteopath on a regular basis (every 1 to 3 months) in order to minimize your symptoms if they result from irreversible conditions.
HISTORY
Osteopathy was founded in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still, an American physician, who was disenchanted with the ineffectiveness of the medicine of his time. Andrew Taylor Still, in particular, believed that the human body often only needs a simple helping hand to cure many ailments, rather than medications (and especially those of his time).
Osteopathy in Europe began in London in 1917 with the creation of the British School of Osteopathy by John Martin Littlejohn, who was previously one of Still’s first students in the United States. In France , Doctor Robert Lavezarri, trained by a student of Still, Doctor Florence Gair, was the first to attract attention to osteopathy. Lavezarri published a work in 1949 on osteopathy: A new clinical and therapeutic method: Osteopathy.