The Principles and Methods of Osteopathy
Part 1. Biomechanical Methods
I. A. Aptekar
© I. A. Aptekar, 2020
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
Osteopathy is an art that allows, using the
power of the Spirit, the Body and Mind, using your hands, to launch a therapeutic process under the guidance of Health.
Unknown osteopathyThis book is dedicated to James S. Jealous D.O., my teacher
Preface
Osteopathy is based on understanding of integrity and unity of man and nature of which it is an integral part.
Internal filling of Osteopathy as an art and science depends on spiritual basis of the doctor osteopath, the level of perception, the used model of the description of the world and the actual angle of vision in the process of perception. Especially in the cases when we think that we perceive integrity.
Often, our perception is directly dependent on which side we are looking at and which part we are holding on to. Just like in the known story about an elephant and blind sages.
Abbreviation DO is often decoded by many osteopaths not only as doctor of osteopathy but also as the motto Dig On. This is a direct call not to stop studying osteopathy, even when it seems that everything has already been studied, known and mastered.
The process of teaching Osteopathy as other types of human activities is universal. We go from unconscious ignorance and inability to unconscious knowledge and ability. We go through the stages of conscious ignorance and conscious actions until knowledge and ability are fixed on the reflex level.
Formation of professional competencies occur gradually being fixed at the level of reflexes and unconscious knowledge. No matter what we study martial arts, dancing, singing, computer work, cooking steak we go through one and the same stages. Any motional act is comprehended gradually in the process of constant mastery of the skill.
Originally we study principles and methods, and then go to the techniques and simple movements. We repeat them after our teachers trying not to miss anything. Copying their movements are repeated many times each, trying to achieve the sensations they are talking about, and the results we see watching their work.
This process continues for a long time. However much we would like to accelerate, we are still moving at the same speed as we are capable of. And consistently go through all the stages of studying and acquiring practical skills, developing both palpation and perception.
Starting basic training in the osteopathic school we think well be able to quickly master osteopathy within 4 years. But it takes a lot longer before we realize that we are still at the beginning of the journey. Then we master methods and techniques seeking their perfect fulfillment, or we think weve already mastered them. At some point in learning and development there is a feeling that we can bring something of yourself into approaches and osteopathic techniques. And the techniques become personified, personal. We even begin to consider ourselves pioneers of something new and already see our images in the same row as the founding fathers of osteopathy.
Schools appear, new techniques are described, new words and word- combinations are uttered, and new meanings are formed. And only principles and methods remain unchanged. The principles of restoring the integrity of the human organism with the help of hands.
And three methods of osteopathy:
Biomechanical, with its axial model of motion description and therapeutic force coming from the doctor osteopath;
Functional, in which the therapeutic force is the global functions of the whole body manifested in the form of global endogenous rhythms, whose action is aimed at achieving integrity and synchronic anatomical molecular and electromagnetic unity of the human body;
Biodynamic, based on the principle of the unity of man and the world around him, with its therapeutic force coming from the outside and manifesting itself in the form of exogenous (ecological) rhythms; the Force having Intellect; Potency that heals unerringly; and Health always present.
All three methods exist simultaneously and represent a single and indivisible integrity. The choice of this or that method is determined by the diagnosis and depends on the effectiveness of the dialogue with the body and tissues. Division into methods is nominal and applies only to the period of basic training of osteopathy.
Consecutive study of the biomechanical method allows you to prepare a theoretical and practical basis for mastering the functional method. What, in turn, forms the basis for studying the biodynamic method.
But over time we suddenly realize and feel that in fact, osteopathy its neither even the principles and methods of therapy nor the individual techniques. This is a way of life based primarily on spirituality and love for people. Otherwise, the system does not work.
And one day there comes a time when we no longer think about what kind of osteopathic help to apply in this or that case.
We just try to be:
the most useful;
neutral and calm;
loving and benevolent;
humble;
respecting the wisdom of nature and the human body.
Of course, if after a session of osteopathic care you are asked what it was, then you will no doubt give an exhaustive answer about the osteopathic diagnosis, primary somatic dysfunction, therapeutic process, its sequence and end phase, up to the global rebalance.
At some point we find that the whole, having achieved neutrality and calmness, can easily restore any part of itself. While the part will never restore the whole. She simply does not enough potency for this. At this level of our life anatomy of the parts becomes less significant compared with anatomy of the whole.
Only continuously studying and developing osteopathy as art and science one can be the most useful and effective.
The world around us is a mirror which reflects our internal state. And if we want to change the environment we need to start with ourselves. It is for this reason that the osteopaths are in constant development, cognition of themselves, and the world around them. In medical practice the areas of application in osteopathy are limited only by the professionalism of the doctor osteopath.
Aptekar I.There is a claim that is on June 22, 1874, at the age of 46,
A.T. Still publicly formulated the three main principles of his philosophy and thereby derived the formula of osteopathy:
The Structure controls the function.
The Body is a single whole.
The Body has mechanisms of self-regulation and self-healing
Osteopathy was discovered by Dr. Still. He did not claim to have created it. He came to understand that osteopathy is a word used to describe the laws of nature, placed in a person before his birth. These laws, known and unknown, are what we call Osteopathy.
Chapter 1 Osteopathic Activity
The Subject of the osteopathic activity is the restoration of the integrity of the human body with the help of hands.
Osteopathy (osteopathic medicine) is practical philosophy, science and art.
Speaking about the definition of osteopathy it should be noted that the following formulation, which is reflected in the clinical recommendations approved by the professional association of osteopaths RoSA, is now generally accepted.
Osteopathy is a holistic manual medical system of prevention, diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation of somatic dysfunction consequences that entail health disorders, aimed at restoring the natural abilities of the body to self-correction.
Specific object of the therapeutic effect of a doctor osteopath is somatic dysfunction.
The basis of osteopathy is fundamental sciences such as anatomy of the living body, embryology, biochemistry, physics, biomechanics, neurophysiology and many others. And when there are questions about the evidence base of osteopathy, we understand that the answers lie in the study of the above sciences and their laws.
Moreover, in the processof studying osteopathy, we must remember that the people who discovered it were deeply religious and spiritual. Osteopathy is now integrated into official medicine. In the process of integration, it is necessary to minimize risks of simplification and emasculation of the substantive part of osteopathy, to preserve its integrity.
Osteopathy evolves evolutionally on the basis of a holistic, predictive, personally oriented system of maintaining human health, as well as diagnosis, prevention and treatment of somatic dysfunctions, leading to a violation of the bodys ability to self-correction and self-recovery.
Osteopathy is not divided into parts. Crushing on the cranial, structural and visceral sections of osteopathy is appropriate only in the process of basic training.
Narrow specialization in the form of cranial, visceral and structural osteopaths leads to a violation of the integrity of osteopathy and distortion of osteopathic activity. Osteopathy is indivisible system. We study principles and methods, anatomy and biomechanics of a living body, fundamental sciences that lie at the basis in order to unite the separate parts into practical, integrated system of diagnostics and therapy, which we call osteopathy.
In the first years of training in the osteopathic school all our attention is focused on the biomechanical method and palpation with the principles (basics) of perception. In the future, we develop perception and master the functional method.
And only when the first two methods are mastered, their application becomes an integral part of the work of the osteopath. And he learned to perceive not only the manifestations of endogenous functions but also exogenous (ecological) rhythms, you can go to the third method of osteopathy biodynamic.
Thus, the task of the biomechanical method is the restoration of the biomechanical unity of the organism; the functional method allows you to restore functional unity, and unity of the organism and biosphere of our planet is restored with the help of the biodynamic method.
Understanding this process is the basis of training osteopath physician throughout his life.
Health and somatic dysfunction
Health, according to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO), is the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of diseases and infirmity.
On the other hand, according to WHO, from the point of view of health statistics, health is understood as the absence of identified disorders and diseases, and at the population level the process of reducing the process of mortality, morbidity and disability.
In both cases, health is considered a condition in which there is no disease (or diseases).
For doctors osteopaths, health has its manifestations for manual palpation and perceptive diagnostics. Osteopaths determine health not by the absence of disease, but by its manifestations.
It is for this reason that Sills assertion an osteopath is looking for health, every person can find a disease is filled with practical meaning for Osteopaths.
The official health care system has now focused on finding and effective prevention of diseases. Perhaps, for this reason, somatic dysfunction has been distinguished by osteopaths as an anatomic morphological substrate, some health manifestation, of self-correction and self-restoration; mechanisms of adaptation that are implemented to maintain homeostasis at the stage before the onset of the disease, at the stage of pre-illness.
It should be noted that the definition of somatic dysfunction is currently still under discussion. The most commonly used definition in the clinical guidelines entitled Osteopathic diagnosis and Somatic dysfunction is presented below.
Somatic dysfunction is a functional disturbance manifested by biomechanical, rythmogenetic and neurodynamic components.
You can also say that it is a reversible dysfunction manifested as a violation of micro- and macro- mobility.
Another definition suggests that somatic dysfunction is a functional disorder which manifests itself as a complex of biomechanical, hydrodynamic and neural changes. And all these statements are true in their own way.
For a more complete understanding of the term somatic dysfunction it is necessary to understand what is actually meant by the words soma and function. And if we use the word combination somatic dysfunction, then it is necessary to define the concept of the somatic function.
If somatic dysfunction manifests itself in a violation of the dynamic neutrality and human integrity, then the somatic function is expressed by integrity and neutral calmness.
Somatic dysfunction leads to desynchronization of internal processes of human vital activity and its relationships with the environment, which is resulting in a violation of the organisms adaptation manifested.
Somatic function of the person, in its turn, is manifested by dynamic mechanisms of self-organization of all body systems, ability to complete compensation and adaptation to environmental influences. The effectiveness of these processes underlies the manifestation of biological and social functions of man.
Function (functio execution, fulfillment) is a phenomenon that depends on another phenomenon and changes as this other phenomenon changes.
In the case of the human body, the function is an arbitrary or involuntary reaction of the organism in response to the influence of the external environment. This response is an adaptation to maintain the constancy of the internal environment. This is an adaptation. Violation of function is nothing but a violation of adaptation, as a result of which the system of maintaining of homeostasis can be broken.
Thus, functional impairment is a violation of the mechanism of adaptation in the process of vital activity of the organism in the changing external environment. The causes of any functional disorder lie outside the affected organ, organ system and are associated with a modified regulation of the function.
The search for the cause and its identification, the understanding of the entire pathogenic chain of the formation of somatic dysfunction should be considered not at the level of inference, but as a result of palpatory and perceptual research, a consistent study of the damage fields both primary and secondary, that resulted from the implementation of adaptation mechanisms.