Osteopathy is a discipline based on manual contact for diagnosis and treatment, in accordance with the relationship of body, mind and spirit in health and pathological conditions. Particular emphasis is given to the structural and functional integrity of the body and its inherent tendency to self-healing. The Osteopath uses a large variety of therapeutic manual techniques in order to improve the physiological functionality and / or support the homeostasis that has been altered by somatic dysfunction such as a weakening of the functions of the components related to the somatic system (skeletal, articular, myofascial structures and related vascular, lymphatic and neural elements).
Osteopath uses all his knowledge of the relationship between structure and function in order to optimize the self-regulation of the body and his capacity for self-regulation. The holistic approach to the care and healing of the patient is based on the concept that every human being is a dynamic functional unit, in which all parts are interrelated and have their own mechanisms of self-regulation and self-healing.
An essential component of any osteopathic treatment consists in manual therapy, typically called manipulative osteopathic treatment, which refers to a series of manipulative techniques that can be combined with other treatments or advice in terms of diet, physical activity and posture.
The Osteopath recognizes that the clinical signs and the symptoms of each patient result from the interaction of many factors, both physical and non-physical; emphasizing the dynamic interrelationship of these factors and the importance of the therapist-patient relationship, this discipline appears to be centered on the patient and not on the disease to be treated.
The structural diagnosis and the osteopathic manipulative treatment are essential components of osteopathy. In particular, the osteopathic manipulative treatment has been developed as a means to facilitate the normal mechanisms of self-adjustment and self-healing of the body acting on areas of dysfunction, stress and strain tissue that can prevent the normal neural, vascular and biochemical mechanisms .
The practical application of this approach is based on different models of structure-function relationship, used by osteopaths to obtain diagnostic information on the structure and to interpret the neuromusculoskeletal signals that reflect the state of health of the person.
Osteopathy is thus not restricted to the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal problems, nor to the analysis of the articular structures and to radiographic evidence of structural relationships. Osteopathy is based on the ways in which the musculoskeletal system’s biomechanics is integrated with the physiology of the whole body, supporting it.
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