Edited by Dr. Luca Franzon
"The body is a whole", a "unit where the different parts, internally connected to each other by connective tissue, work synergistically to benefit the whole organism. "The body has the ability to defend itself and to heal itself". According to the principles of self-defense and self-healing, the organism holds and conserves within it the power to maintain or recover the state of health (homeostasis), that is, it is able to manufacture its own remedies against diseases. In osteopathy, the disease does not it is, that the result of the anatomical imbalance followed by physiological imbalances. From a practical point of view, this leads to the definition of the concept of osteopathic dysfunction, which once again finds its reason for being in the philosophical concept that life is movement. That is: any restriction of mobility in the physiology (loss of movement), of any tissue of the body, leads to the perturbation of self-regulation and, following a degradation of the function and of the structure itself.
Osteopathy is the "reading" of the body through the hands, which, through normalization, want to rebalance the patient.
History of Osteopathy
Osteopathy represents the first codified method of manipulation, but it is much more than this: it appears as a school of medical thought based on a therapeutic philosophy totally in contrast with the scientific thought of the time in which osteopathy itself originated . In 1864 Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917), a doctor in the Middle West, persuaded by the "ineffectiveness of the medicine of his time, introduced a type of reflection on its foundations which led him, after ten years of research and experimentation, to coin the term of osteopathy and to lay the foundations of the new "medical philosophy". If many of his techniques derive from Indian healers and from a famous "bonesetter" of English origin, Robert Joy, most of those he used were conceived by him and were the source of numerous successes bringing him great notoriety. In 1892 he founded a Kirksville, Missouri, the first school of "Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery" (The American School of Osteopathy) to issue a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) degree In 1899, he summed up his medical thinking in his "Philosophy of" Osteopathy " . Still died in 1917, at the age of 90, having published "Autobiography" in 1908 and "Osteopathy Research and Practice" in 1910.
Principles of Osteopathy
Osteopathic philosophy is based on three basic principles: self-healing, the structure-function relationship, the notion of dynamic unity of the human body.
- The principle of self-healing: Still, states that the body contains within itself all the means necessary to eliminate and prevent disease. And this on condition that the self-regulating systems are free to function correctly, that is to say that there is no obstacle on the pathways of tissue nutrition and waste elimination.
- The structure-function relationship: the obstacles, for Still, are to be found in the body structures, that is to say in the myo-beam-skeletal system. The joints, in particular the intervertebral ones, can, following direct or indirect traumas, undergo functional modifications at the origin of the pathological disorders. "osteopathic lesion", structural impairment with repercussions of bodily functions through the indirect pathway of vascularity and innervation disorders that the aforementioned "lesion" entails. Still said, “the rule of the“ artery is absolute. ”Still, according to Still, the distinction between structure and function is completely illusory since structure controls function and function conditions structure.
- The unity of the human body: starting from the neglected Hippocratic conception, Still situates the unity of the human body at the level of the myo-beam-skeletal system. This structure brings together the various parts of the body and is capable of retaining traces of the trauma it undergoes, even if of a minimal entity. Through the aforementioned system, the concatenation of disturbances is also carried out with possible effects at a distance.
Osteopathic dysfunction
Only an osteopath can recognize osteopathic dysfunction, as sometimes these types of injuries even elude examinations such as x-rays. This is because osteopathic dysfunction does not have to be a torn muscle or a broken bone. Osteopathic dysfunction. it affects movement, before hurting or damaging the organs, before multiplying in number or size. It manifests itself as an almost imperceptible imbalance that is often not highlighted by most therapists. Osteopathic dysfunction is only detected if you are able to read the presence of blockages or imbalances at the level of the joints. Blockages and joint imbalances are caused by trauma or external aggressions or alterations in internal functions and are the starting point for numerous ailments that slowly become will show up in the human body. The body will try to react to these blocks through the first principle of osteopathy ( self-healing) but if the aggression is stronger than the body's defenses then a real osteopathic dysfunction will be established.
Osteopathic diagnostics
Osteopathic diagnostics involves three main stages:
- THE ANAMNESIS which must provide all the necessary information regarding the proximate (related to the reason for the consultation) and remote pathology. It also includes the examination and interpretation of any instrumental examinations presented (radiographs, CT, MRI etc.).
- THE OBSERVATION of statics and dynamics.
- PALPATION; The palpatory examination allows to discover the mobility disturbances. The palpation of the soft parts, to appreciate changes in the texture of the tissue: sensation of slight superficial edema and tension of the subcutaneous tissues, an area sensitive to pressure in relation to the surrounding tissues. the study of the bone position looks for the vertebral "malposition".
By applying the most suitable techniques, on the aforementioned diagnostic basis, the therapist will be led to choose maneuvers that are directed towards the best way to heal the patient.
Osteopathic intervention modalities
Osteopathy is not invasive, it does not make use of pharmacological and chemotherapy aid, the only tools used by the osteopath are the hands, with which it normalizes the somatic dysfunction.
Fields of application of "Osteopathy
HEADACHE: with the exception of pains with well-classified etiopathogenesis such as meningitis, encephalitis, tumors, subarachnoid hemorrhages, etc. Osteopathy sometimes intervenes by easing the symptoms, sometimes significantly improving or eliminating them on: migraine, myotensive headache (of cervical origin), Arnold's neuralgia, headache of psychological or nervous origin, vascular algia of the face, facial neuralgia, post- traumatic, digestive, allergic, visual, menstrual, post-operative headaches etc.
NOSE THROAT EAR: rhinitis, sinusitis, blocked nostril, nasal haemorrhage. Sore throat, nasopharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, hoarseness, lack of voice, loss of taste and smell, ear infections, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) blocked ears, hypoacusias (hearing loss).
VISUAL PROBLEMS: various cases of myopia, farsightedness, astigmatism, infantile squint, presbyopia, diplopia, nystagmus, inflammation, headache when reading, visual fatigue, watery eyes, focus disturbances.
TEMPORO-MANDIBULAR JOINT SYNDROME: pain and ailments in the jaw joint, but also headaches, neck and back, ear and throat problems, fatigue, insomnia due to the "trouble maker" the temporal. between dentist and osteopath.
INFECTIOUS, VIRAL, ALLERGIC DISEASES: of slight help for the former by improving immune activity, more incisive on chronic and recurrent diseases, especially in respiratory tract disorders.
VISCERAL AND GLANDULAR DISEASES: They mainly affect diseases due to a dysfunction of the organs and not to their malformations.
LUNG PROBLEMS: tracheitis, dyspnea, asthma. Cardiocirculatory problems: palpitations, arrhythmia, bradycardia, tachycardia, hypertension, hemorrhoids.
DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS: vagus syndrome, nausea, liver and gallbladder disorders, constipation, stomach pain and cramps, dyspepsia, hiatal hernia.
KIDNEY AND URINARY PROBLEMS: renal function, enuresis, polyuria, stranguria.
GENITAL, GYNECOLOGICAL AND SEXUAL PROBLEMS: amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, congestion of the small pelvis, pains during coitus, prostate problems.
ARTHROPATHIES: arthritis, arthrosis, back pain, neuralgia. In the vast majority of cases, back pains are not produced by osteoarthritis which is painless in the spine, but by osteopathic lesions. Peripheral joint pains can be caused by osteoarthritis, but also by an osteopathic or vertebral or peripheral lesion. . Sciatica, cruralgia, cervicobrachial neuralgia, periarthritis, and certain tendinitis are the consequence of osteopathic lesions. Osteopathic lesions favor the rheumatic process and, conversely, rheumatism predispose to osteopathic lesions. The particular cases of low back pain, lumbago, herniated disc, sciatica, cruralgia, are vertebral osteopathic lesions with disc alteration, osteopathic treatments are particularly indicated.
Kinesiology
