Osteopathic History Project: The Root

The video below will be the first in a series of videos that will comprise a project which uses osteopathic textual works to consider the concepts of epistemology, ontology, and axiology. Essentially the aim is to trace the epistemological, ontological, and axiological progress of the profession. Stated otherwise this will examine truth, reality, and the value judgements of osteopathy through time.

Are You Sure About That? Cognitive Biases…

Cognitive Biases are an issue. They are an issue that, as individuals, we are poorly equipped to identify in ourselves. They are an issue that, as individuals, we seem to be quite capable of identifying in others. That being said, I may be poorly equipped to identify my own biases while better able to identify them in others, however I strive to identify them in myself (despite the seemingly inherent issues with success in the endeavor). I have taken some time to create an overview of the concept with attention paid to Osteopathic Manual Therapy in the video below…

Model Operator

How does one go about learning to be an Osteopath? What does one need to know? First and foremost a thorough knowledge of functional anatomy is absolutely required (functional anatomy includes physiology in my mind). The principles governing body functions are necessary knowledge as well. Knowing those two broad topics may leave someone out in the cold if they have no exposure to actual hands-on methods. The dilemma for the Principles based teacher or practitioner is how to introduce hands-on methods without having the student taking the demonstrated method as the only way to actually apply treatment? Further to that, how does the Principles based teacher or practitioner bridge the gap between telling a student that they NEED to do something a SPECIFIC way while they are learning it to ensure safety and once they have mastered that method they are required to create their own way?

What Does My Mid Back Have To Do With My Sciatic Pain?!?!

As I grow in my Osteopathic journey, and really my life, it is interesting to note how many things are directly in front of us and easily accessible yet seemingly unused. One such case is the very basic anatomy of the spinal cord and the vertebral column. When looking back through posts I have made on this site I have always made specific use of the term vertebral column as I do not consider the spinal cord as synonymous with it and I definitely do not consider the term spinal column accurate or useful. As we go through this short journey I will make it clear why!

The Rule Of The Artery Is Supreme (?)

What follows will be a bit of a mental meandering (maybe). I have come across many questions and discussions about what Osteopathy actually is. Common questions are formed as “what is the difference between Osteopathy and (name a hands on practice here)?” I don’t always have a good answer. The reality is that I know what Osteopathy IS while I may not know what other professions are exactly as I am not trained in them or an expert on them. One of the statements I seem to stumble across is that Osteopathy is based on the statement that “the rule of the artery is supreme” which comes from Dr. Still’s writings which are available in many forms and can be found online if anyone wanted to do a bit of searching. Anyone that picks up Dr. Still’s books and actually pays attention to what he put down will know that he said almost everything was of the utmost importance (fascia as the hunting ground for disease).