OSTEOPATHY

What is osteopathic Medicine?

Definition and features
Osteopatic medicine concerns functional troubles, specially losses of mobility, while traditional medicine treats organic pathologies. Organic pathologies are characterized by a tissular damage secondary to exogenous factors (pathogenic agents, traumatic events bringing to dislocations, fractures etc…) and to endogenous factors (biological transformations such as polyarthritis, spondylarthritis etc.) . In such cases, thanks to laboratory or radiographical confirmation, an adequate medical or surgical treatment will be performed. The problem arises when an objective confirmation of a painful pathology is not available and treatment is based  on symptoms without solving the cause. The skills of osteopathic medicine is to collect all somatic dysfunctions and symptoms according to an accurate methodology with the help of ballistic tests aiming at ad hoc treatments. Osteopathic medicine is required to achieve a result unlike traditional medicine which is required to have all necessary equipment but not therapeutic results. Functional troubles, also called somatic dysfunctions, bring the patient to decompensation. These somatic dysfunctions lead to long-term pains. The skill of osteopathic medicine is to find the origin of primary somatic dysfunctions in order to avoid relapses.
Usefulness of osteopathic medicine
The osteopath will not only have to treat spinal column troubles (cervicalgia, dorsalgia, lumbago) but also to look for pains of the peripheral system and consequently of limbs articulation: ankle, knee, shoulder etc.
Some lumbar somatic dysfunctions, due to a secondary, parietal visceral relation, can cause a reduction of blood irrigation at abdominal levels. This venous stasis will concern the small pelvis, specially in women, and will cause a dysmenorrhoea. Other patients may have complications at portal vein and vena cava with functional troubles at intestinal levels (colitis, swellings, constipation). Once these problems are solved, anti-congestion and decongestant exercises have to follow.

Where to place osteopathic medicine
Osteopathic medicine acts where organic pathologies are not yet visible, this means at the very source of traditional medicine. In other cases osteopathic medicine acts where an organic pathology is already visible.