Four Principles of O.M.T.

Although Osteopathy employs the practice of manual medicine, it is not just a set of techniques.

It is a philosophy and a science based on the application of sound principles.

Initially conceived during the late nineteenth century by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917), the founder of Osteopathy.

The philosophy and science of Osteopathy is based upon the following four principles:

The Body is a Single Dynamic Unit of Function.
The Body Possesses Self-Regulatory mechanisms, which are self-healing in nature.
Structure and Function are Interrelated at all levels.

Rational treatment is based on these principles.

The Body is a Single Dynamic Unit of Function.

• If there is an ailment in one part of the body, a patient’s entire system will be affected.

All parts of the body functioning together in an integrated manner. If one part of the body is restricted, then the rest of the body must adapt and compensate for this, eventually leading to inflammation, pain, stiffness and other health conditions. When the body is free of restrictions in movement, Osteopathic treatment assists the body with pain minimization, reduced stress and greater mobility providing the body with the opportunity to heal itself.

The osteopathic physician, however, is trained to recognize that when the body is sick, it is sick all over. A specific organ or system may become the prime focus of illness, but the effects of that illness can be felt in some degree throughout the entire body.

Understanding this concept of functional unity allows osteopathic physicians to diagnose and treat their patients as a functional whole. This may explain why an osteopathic physician may treat an area that is fairly distant from the area of pain or injury.

Body Possesses Self-Regulatory Mechanisms—self-healing in nature.

• The body will always strive towards health and homeostasis. Thus, the human body is a self-adjusting organism.

The human body is always working to maintain a state of balanced function.

By extension, this principle implies that there must be adequate circulation to and from all tissues of the body, and there must be proper nervous system function in order to coordinate the actions of all of the body’s organs and systems.

The osteopathic physician is trained to augment these intrinsic mechanisms to help the body to better and more quickly heal itself.

Osteopathic knowledge and treatment considers the musculoskeletal system to be an extremely important but often neglected aspect of total health. It is emphasized that osteopathy considers the inter-relationships of all physiologic systems (e.g., neurological, respiratory, digestive, etc.).

Structure and Function are Interrelated at all levels.

• The anatomical structure of the your body, expressed through bone, muscle, fascia, blood vessels, nerve fibers or lymphatic tissue are very closely related to how your body will express its function through health.

A. T. Still’s recognition that the musculoskeletal system has an important role in health and disease was a revolutionary concept. His discovery that the use of manipulation could assist the patient in recovering from illness, often with little or no use of drugs or surgery, is one of his most important contributions to the practice of medicine.

Using this knowledge of the interrelationship of structure and function, and the techniques of osteopathic manipulation, the DO has knowledge of a unique system of diagnosis and treatment. This approach alone can often assist patients in recovering from illness. At other times, it allows for recovery with little or no medication, and in some cases may help the patient to avoid surgery.

Dr. A.T. Still considered the human body to be a machine:

The human body is a machine run by unseen force called life, and that it may be run harmoniously, it is necessary that there be liberty of blood, nerves, and arteries from the generating point to destination.

These experiences led Dr. Still to believe that diseases, as we commonly think of them, were really the result bodily malfunctions, not the cause of them. Often that bodily malfunction was an abnormality in the musculoskeletal system, which decreased the ability of the nervous and/or circulatory systems to function properly.

Osteopathic physicians refer to these abnormal areas in the musculoskeletal system as “somatic dysfunctions”, defined as “impaired or altered function of related components of the somatic (body framework) system: skeletal, arthrodial, and myofascial structures, and related vascular, lymphatic, and neural elements.” These are palpable areas, in the spinal muscles, that can be associated with organ diseases as well as common musculoskeletal problems.

Rational treatment is based on these principles.

Osteopathic treatment applies these principles with a sound and thorough knowledge of anatomy and physiology. An osteopathic medical approach to treatment typically integrates osteopathic manipulation to restore structural freedom in the tissues, enhance fluid flow throughout the body, and creates the optimal setting for healing to occur and health to be maintained.

Thus treatment is based on the principles of body unity, self-regulatory and self-healing mechanisms, the somatic component of disease, the interrelationship between structure and function, and the appropriate use of manipulative treatment.

Dr. A.T. Still emphasized the importance of these four principles:

When we take up the principles, we get down to nature. It is ever willing and self-caring, self-feeding and self-protecting.