Are you looking for a Structural Osteopath? Visceral Osteopath? Here is what you need to know.
The phone rings.
“Good morning, am I talking to Mr. Di Presa? “
“Good morning Madam, yes, it’s me”
“Well, I would like to book an appointment for a consultation, but I do not know if it can be right for me …”
“What do you mean Madame? Would you mind explaining me better? Let us see if I can help you. “
“Well, I was visited by other professionals, and one of them told me that I needed to hear a…” – little pause, as if she were trying to remember the rest of the sentence – … “visceral osteopath. I saw that you are an osteopath, but are you actually a visceral one? “
“I understand, I guess they have not explained much, haven’t they?”
“In fact, they just told me I don’t have to be ‘cracked’ with manipulations. They told me that I needed a particular type of osteopath …”
“All right Madam, I understand. Yes, I also take care of that” – I smile.
Once again, I refer to a short, original, example to introduce concepts that I consider useful. It is a philosophic dialogue, but these terms are beginning to be spread more and more often. “Visceral osteopath”, “structural osteopath”, or even “cranial-osteopath”.
Let’s go straight to the point: these are invented terms.
Osteopathy, since its birth in 1874 by its founder A.T. Still, seeks a sense of unity at every level of the body that cannot be fragmented by techniques used, because it would be against its own principles that gave it life.
Shortly, what is useful for you to remember?
• There are no “subcategories” or “specialisation” of osteopathy, related to techniques they use. Definitions such as “structural osteopath”, for instance, are misleading and not representative of the osteopathic profession reality.
• There are no “osteopathic techniques” professionals. A manual technique is “osteopathic” because it is part of an osteopathic philosophy, combined with an osteopathic palpatory (by touch) evaluation and, most importantly, because an osteopath applies it.
• Osteopaths can follow different models of interpretation of the collected data (medical history) and of what is perceived through the osteopathic palpatory evaluation, but we are talking about approach perspectives and not about types of techniques used.
• The osteopathic approach relies on every system of the human body, whether Visceral, Structural or Cranio-Sacral, in relation to the state of health and individual needs of patients.
• Osteopathy is born, developed and still continues to grow following those principles that have always characterised it: dynamic unity, self-regulating and self-healing of the body and the relation between structure and function.
Link to the original italian article by Mr Antonio Di Presa
Sources
Seffinger MA., King HH., Ward RC., Jones JM., Rogers FJ., Patterson MM. (2011) Osteopathic Philosophy. In: Chila AG, editor. Foundations of osteopathic medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott William & Wilkins;. 11.)
Still, A. T. (1902). The philosophy and mechanical principles of osteopathy. Hudson-Kimberly Publishing Company.
Paulus, S. (2013). The core principles of osteopathic philosophy. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, 16(1), 11-16.
