What is the difference between Osteopathy and General Medicine?

Osteopathy ad medicine have a lot in common. They use scientific knowledge of anatomy and physiology. They both use clinical methods of investigation and therefore have a common language.

Osteopathy differs from medicine in that there is no surgical or drug intervention in this treatment, and therefore may be able to complement it, in matters of evaluation of a patient and treatment. The evaluation of the patient, when serious pathology has been ruled out, is concerned with the way the person leads his life, the physical and psychological stresses on the body, effects of trauma and ageing on the body, and the way the bosy is adjusting to (compensating for) these effects. The treatment aims to improve circulation, reduce muscle spasm, improve and maintain flexibility, maintain nerve supply, and restore muscle and joint function and equilibrium. The treatment may consist of massage techniques, manipulation of joints, adjustment of posture, and health education, including exercises and nutritional advice.

The treatment is aimed at resolving the cause rather then alleviating the symptoms. Osteopath's philosophy is the body is a unit whose parts integrally affect each other, therefore, dysfunction in one area affects other areas as well.

For example, a young man suffering from pain due to a cervical disc problem wanted to know why his practitioner was spending time treating his legs when it was his neck that hurt. The osteopath explained that due to a past trauma on the man's leg, the muscles were putting a strain on his back which inturn was causing a restriction in the neck. Thus, treating the legs alleviated most of the pain in the neck.