Them bones, them bones...

When will osteopathy be considered seriously by the medical profession?

Osteopathy started in the United States more than a century ago.

It has been practiced in France for about twenty years.

It is an alternative medical method.

The word “osteopathy” comes from the Greek “ostéon” meaning “bone” and “pathos” meaning “affection”.

It’s a hands-on technique which takes into consideration the central role of the skeleton.

Osteopathy is not universally accepted by doctors and scientists.

However, osteopathy has helped many people recover their health.

Indeed, it is advisable to consult an osteopath twice a year as a means of avoiding health problems.

According to osteopaths, the various structures of the body have the capacity to move quite freely.

When a loss of mobility appears at the level of muscles, internal organs, the skull or envelopes (fascia), symptoms appear.

Osteopathy is both a science and an art.

It acts on the physical structure of the body in order to correct the cause of the disorder and thus helps the body to “cure itself”.

It is both preventive and curative; it aims at rebalancing the ostéo-articular and visceral structures that have lost their mobility.

It considers that all the parts of the body are connected to each other, and is useful for all parts of the body (cranial osteopathy for example).

Dr Andrew Taylor Still, an American doctor, pioneered osteopathy in 1874.

He was inspired by Ancient Greek and Egyptian medicine as well as by the medicine of the Renaissance.

Dr Still said: "the structure governs the function", the principle being that the preservation of health involves keeping the skeleton in good order, thus ensuring in turn the smooth running of the circulatory, nervous, and muscular systems.

The British school of osteopathy was created in 1918 in London by a pupil of Still: John Martin Littlejohn.

In France, it first appeared in the 1950s, and a national union of osteopaths was created, though real interest only began in the 1970s and has been slowly developing since.

To establish his diagnosis, the osteopath has to find where the pain is situated by analyzing the mobility of the various physical structures.

The treatment is based on techniques of pressure and strain, as well as on vertebral and sometimes cranial manipulations.

The pathologies are varied and are not limited to the affections of the vertebral column such as sciatica, lumbago, stiffness in the neck, or pain in the shoulders.

The diseases of the musculoskeletal system are many and include degenerative osteoarthritis, and the consequences of trauma.

Osteopaths can also take charge of problems as diverse as headaches or dizziness, anxiety, sleeping disorders, asthma, colitis, and troubles linked to pregnancy.

Osteopathy is not adapted to dealing with serious infectious or inflammatory states.

It deals more with functional pathologies, where the body and the psyche are in a state of imbalance.

Osteopathy is sometimes used for children who are hyperactive, or who have sleeping problems, or who have suffered cranial trauma through the use of forceps during childbirth.

Osteopathy is misunderstood by many medical experts.

Medical lobbies often exert pressure against it.

In the United States, it now is considered conventional medicine, though numerous practitioners (mainly surgeons) have hesitated for a long time in accepting it.

Criticisms are due to the fact that its efficiency has not been scientifically proved, certain tests showing that osteopathy is not more effective than other forms of treatment.

For some, osteopathy is based on nebulous theories, and they have even accused it of worsening patients’ conditions.

Most osteopaths are also qualified physiotherapists.

Jean Rochefort, the famous actor, has said: "Osteopathy is a medical specialization; with osteopaths, you are in safe hands!"

My physiotherapist is also an osteopath and he always begins a session with osteopathy in order to relax the body; only then does he start the physiotherapy.

As a patient, I can confirm that we all need small osteopathy sessions in order to help our bodies and minds and to keep in good shape for as long as possible.

Article by Alexandre P.