What is Osteopathy Based On?

Osteopathy is based on the following four principles:

Structure governs function (and function governs structure. the 2 are inter-related). Basically, stiff joints and tight muscles can change the way the body moves changing the alignment of joints, causing the body to adjust or compensate. If these aren’t addressed, these changes, over time may lead to pain.

Good circulation is essential to healing. Tight muscles and fascia impede blood flow. This can cause inflammation and irritation resulting in painful symptoms.

The body has its own innate ability to heal. If you’ve ever had a cut or a cold you’ve already experinced this. This healing could be through the immune system or an inflammatory response.

The whole body is inter-related; i.e. restricted movement in the foot related to an old ankle sprain can eventually affect the knee, hip, back, and even the neck and maybe also lead to headaches..

The key to successful treatment lies in the osteopaths ability to assess the position, mobility, and state of all tissues and finding what’s wrong with them.  The last part of an osteopaths skill lays in removing these barriers  so that you and your body can heal itself.

What we could work out from that is that an osteopath is concerned primary with movement. be it of the soft tissues, or of the fluids!

I’m going to be looking at these in more detail and how they apply to “modern” medical/scientific knowledge.