Osteopathy – An introduction

Osteopathic medicine is based on the teachings and works of Dr A.T.Still, who practiced during the late 19th century.  He came from a religious background, and was a military doctor during the American civil war.  His principles were a reaction to the brutality and crudeness of the surgery and the toxic nature of the medicines prescribed at the time.

Osteopathy is a philosophy, a science, and an art.

Its philosophy is based on 4 principles:

• The body is a unit, a holistic unit of body, mind and spirit
• The body is capable of self regulation, self-healing and health maintenance.
• Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated, in that how the body is used will affect the tissues that the body is made up of, and vice versa.
• That rational treatment is based on these principles.

It is a science in the need to understand the workings of the body, its bio-mechanical and bio-chemical mechanisms inherent in health and dis-ease.  It is within the musculo-skeletal system that most pathology becomes evident, and is the most accessible of the systems of the body to ‘natural’ treatment.

An art in the application of these principles and knowledge to bring about health, based on assisting the body to cope with disease and trauma, as well as the normal stresses of Life.

Osteopathy can help with many conditions:

Conditions affecting children, such as poor sleeping / feeding, and the painful joints of the elderly can be treated to improve the quality of life for the whole family.