Belgian academy of osteopathy

The Académie d’Ostéopathie de Belgique,asbl – Academie voor Osteopathie van Belgie, vzw (Academy of Osteopathy of Belgium – a non profit organisation) was founded on 26 September 1990 (its statutes were published in the Moniteur Belge on 13 December 1990).

Its objective is:

to answer philosophical, scientific or ethical questions about osteopathic medicine;
to express its opinion on the norms for teaching osteopathy in Belgium;
to promote and/or organise scientific research on osteopathic medicine;
to be involved in studies and research that may contribute to the progress of the different branches of the osteopathic art as well as their practice, and make proposals as appropriate in this field.

The academy is divided into three different sections :

a fundamental section (anatomy, biomechanics, …);
a clinical section (practice of osteopathy);
a philosophical section (epistemology, psychology, philosophy).

To obtain and to keep the title of member of the Académie d’Ostéopathie de Belgique, one needs :

to be Belgian by birth or to be a naturalised Belgian citizen living in Belgium for five years;
to be an osteopath DO (However, the academy has the right to elect persons who do not hold the title);
to be the author of an original scientific research in the branches managed by the academy and to have presented this work during a session at the academy. (Extract from the statutes)

The Académie d’Ostéopathie de Belgique has fulfilled one of its functions by giving the criteria for the recognition of schools of osteopathy on the Belgian territory as well as the criteria of competence that the candidates will have to meet in order to take the Jury examination.

The Académie d’Ostéopathie de Belgique proposed the following definition of Osteopathy:

“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”.

This definition implies:

on the one hand, the necessity of an exhaustive and rigorous medical training in order to learn the curative and preventive possibilities of medicinal and surgical therapies as well as knowledge in the fields of semiology, medical imaging and other paramedical examinations. These will essentially limit the osteopathic practice and its areas of intervention;
on the other hand, an osteopathic training based essentially on the manipulative aspect but also integrating the concept of “global” functioning of the living being while nevertheless recognising its limits for interpretation.

A fundamental desire of the Académie d’Ostéopathie de Belgique is to put diagnostic and manipulative therapeutic techniques to the test by following a scientific method to assess the mechanisms specific to its action and its the clinical results. These are the principles which must be adhered to by students writing their theses. These principles must also govern every therapeutic intervention to prevent osteopathic practice based on tradition from succumbing to any dogmatic and traditionalist deviation.

The Académie d’Ostéopathie de Belgique is convinced that from an ethical point of view osteopathy must define field of application and hence its contraindications.

This conception of a responsible osteopathy will guarantee that the training of future practitioners focuses on the concern for the patient rather than the illness itself.