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Osteopathy is a system of healing which was discovered in the late nineteenth century by Dr. A.T. STILL in the U.S.A. When an epidemic of viral meningitis broke out in which he, himself, lost three of his children, he began to reflect upon the fact that some people fell ill while others didn't.
The basic principles of osteopathy are based on the logic of the applied knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology:
1. the body functions as an integral whole;
2. structure and function are inextricably bound up with each other;
3. the body possesses self-regulating mechanisms (i.e. it's able to cure itself);
4. a relational therapy for the body is based on the knowledge and application of these 3 basic principles.
In other words, the osteopathic way to deal with a problem is holistic and causal.
In practice this means that a problem has to be seen not only in its localized context but that each posture structure may lead to pain (or other problems) in a remote part of the body (or affect the entire body). The link between the two can be muscular, tendinous, fascial, neurological, visceral, arterial, etc., . So the reasoning here revolves around cause-and-effect chains.
These two basic principles, one holistic the other causal, lead us, as often as not, to the spinal column, owing to its central role as the axis of the body, but also as a housing of the nervous system, both peripherally and autonomically.
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A good grounding in equine osteopathy is based on 3 main pillars :
a) a high degree of sensitivity (i.e. good palpation skills)
b) specialist knowledge
c) manual techniques
a) great sensitivity is universal and, as a consequence, transferable and applicable, by osteopathic handling, to other mammals. An osteopath with a grounding in human osteopathy will be able, with relative ease, to apply his professionally trained sensitivity to horses, dogs, cats, etc., .
b) specialist knowledge is, of course, directly related to the subject matter involved. In order to treat horses, for example, the osteopath has to have a thorough command of the specific anatomy, biomechanics and physiology of the animal concerned.
c) the technique used will also depend on the body to be treated; to treat a horse the osteopath has to employ other techniques than for a human or a dog. But the appropriate technique will logically ensue from a high degree of sensitivity and a knowledge that provides insight.
Why horses and dogs in particular?
1. many problems with horses arise due to the downward action of the rider's body weight, a dog, for example, doesn't have these problems. Dogs on the other hand have to deal with other problems.
2. horses are often used competitively, which increases the muscular demands placed on their bodies and also the risk of injuries and other irregularities (e.g. recalcitrance).
3. the capital investment that many horses represent.
4. the horse can be looked upon as a standard animal, in the same way as with many courses of veterinary training. So, from this starting point, the osteopath can transfer his skills to other animals as well, e.g. the dog.
These are just a few reasons but clearly, from the foregoing, cats and dogs could just as easily be treated with osteopathy, providing that the osteopath gains a deeper insight into their anatomy, biomechanics and physiology, what will be studied in the 3rd year of our course. |
