Osteopathy is a holistic healthcare method; founded based on the principle that the body has an inherent ability to heal itself when its various systems are in balance. It seeks to promote long-term health by addressing the root causes of health issues rather than treating symptoms in isolation.
As I've been working in a profession for ten years that helps people suffering from chronic pain and movement impairment, I naturally came across Osteopathy. People with pain often require a multi-system approach of care. I have attended various workshops and certification courses to learn methods that assess from a holistic perspective and provide fundamental treatment, rather than focusing solely on the area or symptoms of pain. Through these experiences, I discovered that many workshops and certification courses are based on alternative medicine called Osteopathy. To deepen my understanding of Osteopathy and practice this intriguing method, I attended the Manual Osteopathy College of Canada.
As I integrated Osteopathy into my rehabilitation treatment methods, I witnessed astonishing outcomes and experienced the marvel of the human body. I got those results by applying the key principles of Osteopathy that focus on removing barriers to self-healing mechanisms and guiding the body to restore balance within its internal environment. This complements conventional approaches that focus mainly on symptoms or medical diagnoses. As many people may already know, the site of pain is not always the source of pain. Especially in chronic pain, the site of pain is rarely the source of pain.
Paying close attention to the balance of the various systems of the body allowed me to understand the relationships among them and treat the internal environment of the body in a way that I never imagined possible. Here are some examples of such cases.
Chronic headache was controlled after improving relative mobility between the respiratory diaphragm and kidney.
Persistent groin pain and hip stiffness improved after releasing the scar tissues from the tummy tuck surgery and breast reduction surgery while improving lymphatic drainage from lower body into the heart.
Long-standing neck tension and snapping sensation disappeared after improving lymphatic drainage by balancing the tension within the thoracic inlet (one of the many diaphragms of the body).
Chronic unexplained toe pain significantly subsided after balancing the tension within the dural tube (an important connective tissue layer that connects the head to the tail bone) and implementing stress-management strategies.
Left-sided tension, weakness, and impaired walking immediately improved after re-balancing the tension of the ligament that connects the thorax to the ovaries and connective tissue layers that suspend the large intestine.
Chronic back pain that required the person to rely on a back belt all the time improved as the relative motion between the liver and small intestine was restored and the smooth flow of the bile from the gallbladder to the small intestine was promoted.
On the surface, the results of these cases may sound too much "out there". However, they actually make perfect sense once we understand the integrative human anatomy. They may seem foreign to many of us, because we are too familiar with the conventional allopathic medicine approach, where each system of the body is treated completely independently from the other. The founder of Osteopathy, Dr. Andrew Talyor Still, realized the critical limitations of allopathic medicine after practicing it for many dedicated years as a physician in America. After tragically losing his three children to meningitis despite his and his physician colleagues' constant allopathic care, he began to develop the systemic method of treatment based on the thorough and evolving understanding of integrative human anatomy and deeply-rooted indigenous wisdom of treating the body as a whole. His reputation rapidly grew as he continuously resolved the symptoms that were deemed "untreatable". In 1874, he named his method "Osteopathy" and his first school of Osteopathy opened in 1892. Since then, Osteopathy continuously evolved while blending with modern science. Nevertheless, the key principles remain the same. They are the following.
The body is an integrated unit: A person is a unit of body, mind, and spirit.
The body is capable of self-healing, self-regulation, and health maintenance.
The structure and function are inherently interrelated.
Following the principles of Osteopathy, my treatment is based on a thorough understanding of the physiological principles of the integrated body unit, self-regulation, and the interrelationship of structure and function. This naturally makes my approach to be very client-focused. It also means that I make a constant effort to listen and understand. In Osteopathy, "listening" means beyond just paying attention to verbal explanation/expression. It means using all my senses to understand what the body is trying to tell me. In this context, my hands "listen" to the story of the body expressed via the tension, vibration, and vitality of the tissues being touched. Developing such hands-on "listening" skills also helped me effectively apply a humble approach of treatment. Like many other clinicians, I accumulated lots of knowledge through continuing education, research, and clinical experiences. While the knowledge helped me quickly form a plausible hypothesis, it also sometimes made me biased toward my own preconception. However, the truth is that no matter how smart I am, I can never be more intelligent than my client's body. Osteopathic hands-on "listening" skills helped me overcome my bias and truly serve the body's needs. I experienced over and over again that the body's self-healing mechanism was naturally induced when my hands were accurately guided through the humble-minded hands-on "listening".
Looking back, there were many days when I felt incompetent because I couldn’t properly help those suffering from chronic pain. However, through Osteopathy, I came to believe in the body's remarkable self-healing principles and learned how to use myself as a tool to awaken this great self-healing power. And through the results that appeared in treatment, I became increasingly convinced that this approach is the right way to help those with chronic pain. So now I can confidently tell those who are suffering from chronic pain and feeling hopeless:
Your body has never given up on you and is still a remarkable body. It's just that the internal environment for your body to fully utilize its regenerative abilities has been gradually disrupted. Let’s help your body , mind, and spirit to restore its optimal environment.
I am excited to introduce you to the wonders of Osteopathy through this blog series.
Please click this link to check out the case studies to learn more about the practical clinical application of Osteopathy.
Please also stay tuned for upcoming blog posts on the interrelationships among various body systems.
Click this link to get in touch with me to learn if Osteopathic treatment is for you or your loved ones.
Book your appointments here to start your Osteopathy.
Great article about the definition and benefit of osteopathy! I especially liked the story of how the therapist is going through a himbling journey through this method. My friends have told me wonderful things about osteopathy. Excited to try this soon!