Basic Principles

	'' Osteopathy is a diagnostic and manipulative therapy approach to malfunctions in joint and tissue mobility in general, as these contribute to the appearance of illnesses ". (Académie d'Ostéopathie de Belgique asbl - Academy of Osteopathy of Belgium, a non-profit organisation)

Basic principles

1. The unity of the human being

The body is a biological unity interacting with the environment.
For Still, a disturbance in one part of the body can mean an imbalance of the entire body.
Osteopathy must not only restore the function of the affected area but also regulate the balance of the entire body.

2. Self-regulation

According to the principle of homeostasis, the body has a natural capacity for self-defense, for self-regulation. To recover its balance, it needs to be sustained by an adequate environment and by adapted nutrition.
Rather than dealing exclusively with the symptom, the treatment needs to understand its origin and, if possible, it must restore the defense mechanism of the organism.
Still sensed the role of immunity long before it was demonstrated.

3. The structure governs the function and vice-versa

The term of structure refers to the way anatomic elements are constituted.
The structure is related to the function. It is explained by physiology. For example, the structure of the striated muscle cell is related to its function which is essentially the movement.

4. The rule of the artery

"The rule of the artery is supreme".

Still thought that blood could generate the substances necessary to maintain immunity. The integrity of the circulatory systems (blood and lymphatic) and the integrity of the nervous system were for Dr. Still an essential condition for good health.

5. The locomotor system

The neuro-musculo-skeletal system is more than a structure. It makes movement and thus life possible. The slightest dysfunction in the system can affect the physiology of the entire body.
Everything we do is expressed by our "neuro-musculo-skeletal" system. The other systems nourish and serve this system and enable us to adapt to our environment.
Osteopathy is thus a diagnostic and therapeutic system based on the quality of movement in the body. The treatment is exclusively manual, viewing the individual as a whole, integrated in his/her environment.
Osteopathy treats certain acute or chronic states of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system; it also treats functional diseases. This approach is similar to the conceptions of the so-called Functional Medicine, of the Experimental Medicine of Claude Bernard and of preventive medicine.