Osteopathy is a form of hands-on treatment that is suitable for people of all ages and in any state of health. It is much more than just manipulative treatment for back pain; the art of manipulating joints is an ancient one, but osteopathy as envisaged by its founder, Andrew Taylor Still, has much greater scope and depth.
Origins of Osteopathy
In the late 19th century Dr Still, a country doctor in Midwest America, observed that the body’s structure was reciprocally related to the way it functioned. He found that freedom of motion of all parts of the body – ensuring that fluids can interchange freely through every tissue and organ – was fundamental to its health. His particular interest was in the spine, as the ‘junction box’ for the neural control of the organs, muscles, circulation and all tissues.
A Unique Approach to Treatment
The osteopath works to gently realign the spinal and peripheral joints and the fascial compartments enveloping each organ, nerve, muscle and bone, to enable integrated healthy motion of the body as a whole. Osteopathy is much more than a system of techniques; true osteopathy, as taught by Dr Still, consists of the “osteopathic thinking” used in understanding the route by which the problem came into being, which also indicates the way in which the body needs to be treated to unlock its own self-healing potential.
