Proposed by surgeon and physician Andrew Taylor Still in 1874, osteopathy is a form of medical practice that emphasizes the holistic structure and nature of the body. Originating the Greek root words “osteone” (structure) and “pathos” (pain), osteopathic treatment aims to maintain, restore or enhance the body’s natural ability to heal.
Dependent on the interrelation between structure and function, osteopathic practitioners facilitate the natural process by performing assessments and various treatments techniques to minimize pain and optimize healing. Osteopathic practitioners use different manual techniques (known as osteopathic manipulative treatment) to ease “restrictions “or areas of the body that are not functioning and moving accordingly. Freeing such restrictions restores balance to all components of the body and thus, allows one to heal. Osteopathic care is appropriate for treating distress in the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, reproductive and nervous system.