What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a safe and gentle form of manual therapy aimed at improving the health and well being of the whole person. The philosophy of Osteopathy is based on the body being an interconnected whole, capable of self-regulation and self-healing given that the proper factors are in good supply.
As the body is one unit, structure is directly related to the function (and vice versa). This helps form the reasoning why all the systems including, but not limited to, circulatory, neurological, musculoskeletal, hormonal and digestive are taken into consideration. With this holistic understanding, Osteopathy acknowledges that the person’s health is also interconnected with their physical, mental and spiritual health.
Taking into account your personal history, Osteopathic Manual Therapists utilize gentle techniques to support your body to improve circulation, reduce pain and increase function. Using skilled palpation and an extensive understanding of anatomy and physiology, OMTs support the body’s inherent ability to auto-regulate and self-heal.
A Brief History
Osteopathy was ‘discovered’ by the American Physician, Andrew Taylor Still in Missouri in the 1800’s. On the frontier, medicine during Still’s time was quite different. Antibiotics had yet to be discovered and common treatments included alcohol, opioids and amputation. Facing the loss of his father, wife and three children within a short period of time to meningitis, Still was forced to question how effective his tools were. After much meditation and deliberation, he began to reason there must be another way.
In his thinking, the body was not created without rhyme or reason. The circulatory, nervous and all systems of the body were in place for a purpose. That purpose was to furnish the body with nutrition, and to help heal itself and auto regulate.
As the son of a preacher, Dr. Still grew up listening to sermons and had spent a large amount of time with the First Nation of his area, the Shawnee. Sources point out that in his quest, Dr. Still was influenced by his environment. 1 With reverence for Nature, his writings point out the interconnectedness of not only the physical body, but the spiritual and mental aspects as well. 2
In the United States, Osteopathy grew up under the tutelage of its discoverer and expanded overseas via prominent Osteopaths such as John Martin Littlejohn, Anne Wales, Thomas Schooley, and William Garner Sutherland.
The passing of Andrew Taylor Still and the spread of Osteopathy overseas eventually led to two streams of Osteopathy present in the world today.
Osteopathic Physicians trained in the United States can practice as licensed Physicians in Canada if they are a member of their respective provincial medical college. They are granted prescribing rights and can work in the medical specialty of their choosing.
The scope of the Osteopathic Manual Therapists trained in Canada entails manual (hands on) therapy and does not include prescribing pharmaceuticals.
As of now, Osteopathy is not regulated in Canada. Because of this, there is a wide discrepancy of training available and persons claiming to be Osteopathic Practitioners or Osteopathic Manual Therapists. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes two streams of Osteopathic training worldwide. Type I training programs are aimed at people with little previous healthcare training. They are typically four years of full time studies entailing 4200 hours with at least 1000 hours of supervised clinical practice and training. Type II programs are for those with previous healthcare training presented in a part time format to ensure graduates can demonstrate the same competencies of Type I training.
To ensure your Osteopathic Manual Therapist has obtained the proper education, there has been an association set up in most provinces. Only those with education meeting the benchmarks laid out by the WHO are able to become a member of these associations. In Alberta, this is the Alberta Association of Osteopathic Manual Therapists (AAOMT). 3
*Please be aware that in some provinces, schools with sub par education have set up their own associations to appear legitimate to the public.
References:
-
John Lewis’ A.T. Still: From the Dry Bone to the Living Man. Dry Bone Press, 2012.
-
Referring to A. T. Still’s four works: Autobiography of Andrew T. Still, The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, Osteopathy Research and Practice, The Philosophy of Osteopathy.