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Osteopathic Medicine is a mindset and a distinct philosophy. Founded by Dr. A.T. Still in 1874, osteopathic medicine branched from conventional allopathic medicine. Osteopathic medicine is holistic in it philosophy and its teaching. An osteopathic doctor believes the body functions as a unit, everything in the body is interconnected. Structures in the body influence the function so osteopathic treatment seeks to improve structural balance. The goal of osteopathic treatment is to help the body’s own self-healing mechanisms. Osteopathic doctor’s do not consider themselves healers but rather use their knowledge of anatomy, physiology and biochemistry to facilitate the patient’s ability to heal which is innate in all of us. Osteopathic doctors have a unique perspective and draw on conventional medical interventions, sometimes integrative modalities and traditional osteopathic techniques to find health from within in their patients. Osteopathic medicine aims to achieve overall wellness and the treatment of disease by focusing on prevention.
Osteopathic doctors just like allopathic medical doctors attend 4 years of medical school training as well as one year internship and typically a residency of 3-5 years depending on medical specialty. Osteopathic doctors also receive special training in the musculoskeletal and neurological systems and use manual osteopathic manipulation to help the body’s natural healing mechanisms. Osteopathic doctors will move your muscles and joints and apply pressure to specific areas of the body to bring structures into balance.
There is a famous quote by Dr Andrew Taylor Still – “Find It, Fix It and Leave It Alone”. Put another way, the Osteopath seeks to find the cause of disease, remove any obstruction to health and then let the natural healing mechanism do the rest. Osteopaths are students of anatomy and nature, they observe the body to find the keystone intervention that allows the health to flourish in the individual. This is what osteopathic treatment is all about.
What are we doing during an osteopathic treatment?
An osteopathic treatment is a dynamic process. It is a hands-on evaluation and treatment. In a way, we are communicating with the body. We use our hands to “diagnose” or find “it”. The “it” that we are finding is motion or lack thereof in the body tissues. Those body tissues include of course the musculoskeletal system- the bones, the muscles, the connective tissue and the fascia. We are also paying attention to the nervous system and the circulatory systems which include arteries, veins and lymphatic vessels. We observe with our hands the motion of the fluids within those vessels as well as the fluids in the spaces outside of cells called the “extracellular” fluid and this also includes the cerebrospinal fluid. Finally, the organ tissue is another area of our attention. We are also feeling the sense of how these different areas of the body are functioning as a whole- which is hard to put into words sometimes.
We then work to “fix it” by restoring normal motion. This may mean application of technique all the while monitoring the tissues for the unfolding of the therapeutic process in those tissues. Sometimes it may seem like the treatment is passive, but the slight pressure applied with precision and feeling of the response in the tissue is an active process, a give and take almost like a dance with the end goal of restoring normal motion and function.
The last part- “leave it alone” is often the hardest part but is the most critical. As part of osteopathic philosophy is the deep trust in the natural healing mechanism. The intelligence of the body is far greater and allows for the therapeutic process to happen without our trying to interfere and this is sometimes the most challenging. The treatment evolves over the next few days and weeks. Again, using the words of Dr. Still- “let nature’s remedy be the doctor”.
Samantha was seen for her migraine headaches which have been troubling her for the last 20 years. A history of her headaches is taken, any injuries that can be recalled are noted. Any medical or life events and the timeline of the headaches are noted. The quality, frequency and triggers of the headaches are noted. Previous treatments, interventions and responses are all important as well.
Next, an osteopath, we will put hands somewhere on the body- often the sacrum and base of the cranium, but this does not have to be. We scan the system to feel where the attention should be- this is the “find it”. Now, you may be thinking- the head of course!! But that is not always the case, as everything is connected and when we are palpating to feel where our attention should focus, we keep the location of the pain in mind but that may not be the most important area at that moment in time. Then an intervention is applied in alignment and with permission of the body tissues. This may feel like pressure or may feel like light touch or sometimes even involve more forceful action all while monitoring the response to the intervention. Sometimes, we may ask the patient to move or to adjust their body to help facilitate the treatment.
At the end of the treatment, the goal is to feel that the body is moving and communicating better as a whole. Then, we allow for that process to continue improving the health of the person. In a way, the body has become “stuck” structurally in a maladaptive pattern- this may be from any number of events and osteopathy works to get the body “unstuck” so it can function better.
Back to our case with Samantha, perhaps we noted that there was lack of motion of the sacrum / tailbone and subsequently the bones at the base of the skull – called the occiput. Some pressure was placed to alleviate that lack of movement and once motion was restored, again scanning for other areas involved, we focused on the parietal and temporal bone of the skull which was affecting the middle meningeal artery. After the treatment, care is taken to make sure that Samantha feels well, and she goes home. A few months later she returns to report that her headaches have lessened in frequency and intensity. The process is then repeated and perhaps, this time, there are other findings and treatments given. If we have fidelity to the principle of allowing the patient’s body to guide the treatment, we are trusting in that natural healing mechanism which is foundational to osteopathic treatment and it allows for the goal, in this case, of improved migraine headaches.
Typically, treatments are monthly for a period of time and then can become less frequent as the issue is resolved. Some patients come periodically for treatments as part of their whole health wellness strategy without a specific medical problem.
The philosophy of osteopathic medicine and functional medicine complement each other and have many similarities. In fact, Functional medicine is an extension of the osteopathic principles. In the functional medicine model, there is an area of imbalance called “structural integrity”. This refers to every part of the body, such as the cellular structure, the nerves, muscles, bones of the skeletal system, and the organ systems. One of the principles of osteopathy states that structure and function are interrelated.
At the very center of the functional medicine matrix is the mind, body and spirit connection. It is a practice that brings together the mind body spirit connection for Dr. Mercuro and her patients.
At Sparkle Health, Dr. Mercuro introduces what her patient needs at that given moment using an eclectic mix of conventional medicine, functional medicine, integrative and osteopathic treatment.
Dr. Mercuro continues to train and attend courses to add osteopathic manipulation and cranial osteopathic treatment to her toolkit with the goal of helping her patients find health. Those who seek to not only treat disease but prevent it should consider seeing a physician that practices osteopathic medicine.
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