Page 129 of 897
Previous Page     Next Page        Smaller fonts | Larger fonts     Go back to the flash version

SPORTS MEDICINE OSTEOPATHY IN SPORT

THE DEVELOPING ROLE

OF OSTEOPATHS IN SPORT

BY JONATHAN BETSER, DO AND SUSAN COOK, BSC (HONS) OSTMED DO

INTRODUCTION Over the years, osteopaths have increasingly become a key provider of physical therapy for people involved in sport. Indeed, osteopathy has become recognised as one of the disciplines sought for inclusion in sports medicine teams from local club level to international squads and teams. Furthermore, the body of osteopathic research is growing steadily and has most recently been evaluated and included in the latest guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) looking at the early management of persistent low back pain (1).

ORIGINS OF OSTEOPATHY Osteopathy dates back to 1872, when a new system of medicine was conceived by Andrew Taylor Still (1828–1917), an American doctor. Still was convinced that nineteenth- century medical practitioners had little understanding of the causes of disease and that patient care was severely inadequate. When medical treatment was unable to save the lives of his three children from a meningitis epidemic, he decided to devote his time to studying the human body and finding better ways to treat disease (2,3). His belief was that a systematic method of treatment was required that would not result in the disastrous effects of therapies current at the time and would focus mainly on the musculoskeletal system, while also recognising the importance of the vascular

BODY AND IS BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE THAT THE WELLBEING OF AN INDIVIDUAL DEPENDS ON THE SKELETON, MUSCLES, LIGAMENTS AND CONNECTIVE TISSUES FUNCTIONING SMOOTHLY TOGETHER

www.sportEX.net

OSTEOPATHY WORKS WITH THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE

Osteopathy is becoming established as a key provider of physical therapy for those people involved in sport. This article outlines the principles behind osteopathy and details some of the osteopathic techniques commonly used during treatment. The role of osteopathy within the field of sports medicine is discussed and the supporting research reviewed.

and lymphatic systems. Central to Still’s theory was his view that the body was created as a perfect harmonious whole and had an inherent ability to heal itself. Still devised his philosophy and principles steadily, eliminating the use of addictive and toxic drugs from his practice and focusing on manually applied physical therapy techniques (4). The success of his treatment provoked considerable interest, with colleges of osteopathy being established in the USA. The first UK osteopathy college was founded in London in 1915.

WHAT IS OSTEOPATHY? Osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical conditions. It works with the structure and function of the body and is based on the principle that the wellbeing of an individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues functioning smoothly together (3). Osteopaths believe that in order for the body to work well, its structure and function must be considered as an integral continuum (4,5). Therefore, osteopaths work to restore the body to a state of balance, where possible without the use of drugs or surgery, and traditionally treating what is often termed “an osteopathic lesion” (6).

An initial consultation with an osteopath includes the taking of a full medical case history and a thorough examination. This allows the osteopath to screen for potential red flags that require referral for further investigation (7). An experienced osteopath uses palpation and a detailed functional biomechanical evaluation to determine whether somatic dysfunction exists. Somatic dysfunction is defined as tissue texture changes, asymmetry, restricted range of

7

Previous arrowPrevious Page     Next PageNext arrow        Smaller fonts | Larger fonts     Go back to the flash version
1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11  |  12  |  13  |  14  |  15  |  16  |  17  |  18  |  19  |  20  |  21  |  22  |  23  |  24  |  25  |  26  |  27  |  28  |  29  |  30  |  31  |  32  |  33  |  34  |  35  |  36  |  37  |  38  |  39  |  40  |  41  |  42  |  43  |  44  |  45  |  46  |  47  |  48  |  49  |  50  |  51  |  52  |  53  |  54  |  55  |  56  |  57  |  58  |  59  |  60  |  61  |  62  |  63  |  64  |  65  |  66  |  67  |  68  |  69  |  70  |  71  |  72  |  73  |  74  |  75  |  76  |  77  |  78  |  79  |  80  |  81  |  82  |  83  |  84  |  85  |  86  |  87  |  88  |  89  |  90  |  91  |  92  |  93  |  94  |  95  |  96  |  97  |  98  |  99  |  100  |  101  |  102  |  103  |  104  |  105  |  106  |  107  |  108  |  109  |  110  |  111  |  112  |  113  |  114  |  115  |  116  |  117  |  118  |  119  |  120  |  121  |  122  |  123  |  124  |  125  |  126  |  127  |  128  |  129  |  130  |  131  |  132  |  133  |  134  |  135  |  136  |  137  |  138  |  139  |  140  |  141  |  142  |  143  |  144  |  145  |  146  |  147  |  148  |  149  |  150  |  151  |  152  |  153  |  154  |  155  |  156  |  157  |  158  |  159  |  160  |  161  |  162  |  163  |  164  |  165  |  166  |  167  |  168  |  169  |  170  |  171  |  172  |  173  |  174  |  175  |  176  |  177  |  178  |  179  |  180  |  181  |  182  |  183  |  184  |  185  |  186  |  187  |  188  |  189  |  190  |  191  |  192  |  193  |  194  |  195  |  196  |  197  |  198  |  199  |  200  |  201  |  202  |  203  |  204  |  205  |  206  |  207  |  208  |  209  |  210  |  211  |  212  |  213  |  214  |  215  |  216  |  217  |  218  |  219  |  220  |  221  |  222  |  223  |  224  |  225  |  226  |  227  |  228  |  229  |  230  |  231  |  232  |  233  |  234  |  235  |  236  |  237  |  238  |  239  |  240  |  241  |  242  |  243  |  244  |  245  |  246  |  247  |  248  |  249  |  250  |  251  |  252  |  253  |  254  |  255  |  256  |  257  |  258  |  259  |  260  |  261  |  262  |  263  |  264  |  265  |  266  |  267  |  268  |  269  |  270  |  271  |  272  |  273  |  274  |  275  |  276  |  277  |  278  |  279  |  280  |  281  |  282  |  283  |  284  |  285  |  286  |  287  |  288  |  289  |  290  |  291  |  292  |  293  |  294  |  295  |  296  |  297  |  298  |  299  |  300  |  301  |  302  |  303  |  304  |  305  |  306  |  307  |  308  |  309  |  310  |  311  |  312  |  313  |  314  |  315  |  316  |  317  |  318  |  319  |  320  |  321  |  322  |  323  |  324  |  325  |  326  |  327  |  328  |  329  |  330  |  331  |  332  |  333  |  334  |  335  |  336  |  337  |  338  |  339  |  340  |  341  |  342  |  343  |  344  |  345  |  346  |  347  |  348  |  349  |  350  |  351  |  352  |  353  |  354  |  355  |  356  |  357  |  358  |  359  |  360  |  361  |  362  |  363  |  364  |  365  |  366  |  367  |  368  |  369  |  370  |  371  |  372  |  373  |  374  |  375  |  376  |  377  |  378  |  379  |  380  |  381  |  382  |  383  |  384  |  385  |  386  |  387  |  388  |  389  |  390  |  391  |  392  |  393  |  394  |  395  |  396  |  397  |  398  |  399  |  400  |  401  |  402  |  403  |  404  |  405  |  406  |  407  |  408  |  409  |  410  |  411  |  412  |  413  |  414  |  415  |  416  |  417  |  418  |  419  |  420  |  421  |  422  |  423  |  424  |  425  |  426  |  427  |  428  |  429  |  430  |  431  |  432  |  433  |  434  |  435  |  436  |  437  |  438  |  439  |  440  |  441  |  442  |  443  |  444  |  445  |  446  |  447  |  448  |  449  |  450  |  451  |  452  |  453  |  454  |  455  |  456  |  457  |  458  |  459  |  460  |  461  |  462  |  463  |  464  |  465  |  466  |  467  |  468  |  469  |  470  |  471  |  472  |  473  |  474  |  475  |  476  |  477  |  478  |  479  |  480  |  481  |  482  |  483  |  484  |  485  |  486  |  487  |  488  |  489  |  490  |  491  |  492  |  493  |  494  |  495  |  496  |  497  |  498  |  499  |  500  |  501  |  502  |  503  |  504  |  505  |  506  |  507  |  508  |  509  |  510  |  511  |  512  |  513  |  514  |  515  |  516  |  517  |  518  |  519  |  520  |  521  |  522  |  523  |  524  |  525  |  526  |  527  |  528  |  529  |  530  |  531  |  532  |  533  |  534  |  535  |  536  |  537  |  538  |  539  |  540  |  541  |  542  |  543  |  544  |  545  |  546  |  547  |  548  |  549  |  550  |  551  |  552  |  553  |  554  |  555  |  556  |  557  |  558  |  559  |  560  |  561  |  562  |  563  |  564  |  565  |  566  |  567  |  568  |  569  |  570  |  571  |  572  |  573  |  574  |  575  |  576  |  577  |  578  |  579  |  580  |  581  |  582  |  583  |  584  |  585  |  586  |  587  |  588  |  589  |  590  |  591  |  592  |  593  |  594  |  595  |  596  |  597  |  598  |  599  |  600  |  601  |  602  |  603  |  604  |  605  |  606  |  607  |  608  |  609  |  610  |  611  |  612  |  613  |  614  |  615  |  616  |  617  |  618  |  619  |  620  |  621  |  622  |  623  |  624  |  625  |  626  |  627  |  628  |  629  |  630  |  631  |  632  |  633  |  634  |  635  |  636  |  637  |  638  |  639  |  640  |  641  |  642  |  643  |  644  |  645  |  646  |  647  |  648  |  649  |  650  |  651  |  652  |  653  |  654  |  655  |  656  |  657  |  658  |  659  |  660  |  661  |  662  |  663  |  664  |  665  |  666  |  667  |  668  |  669  |  670  |  671  |  672  |  673  |  674  |  675  |  676  |  677  |  678  |  679  |  680  |  681  |  682  |  683  |  684  |  685  |  686  |  687  |  688  |  689  |  690  |  691  |  692  |  693  |  694  |  695  |  696  |  697  |  698  |  699  |  700  |  701  |  702  |  703  |  704  |  705  |  706  |  707  |  708  |  709  |  710  |  711  |  712  |  713  |  714  |  715  |  716  |  717  |  718  |  719  |  720  |  721  |  722  |  723  |  724  |  725  |  726  |  727  |  728  |  729  |  730  |  731  |  732  |  733  |  734  |  735  |  736  |  737  |  738  |  739  |  740  |  741  |  742  |  743  |  744  |  745  |  746  |  747  |  748  |  749  |  750  |  751  |  752  |  753  |  754  |  755  |  756  |  757  |  758  |  759  |  760  |  761  |  762  |  763  |  764  |  765  |  766  |  767  |  768  |  769  |  770  |  771  |  772  |  773  |  774  |  775  |  776  |  777  |  778  |  779  |  780  |  781  |  782  |  783  |  784  |  785  |  786  |  787  |  788  |  789  |  790  |  791  |  792  |  793  |  794  |  795  |  796  |  797  |  798  |  799  |  800  |  801  |  802  |  803  |  804  |  805  |  806  |  807  |  808  |  809  |  810  |  811  |  812  |  813  |  814  |  815  |  816  |  817  |  818  |  819  |  820  |  821  |  822  |  823  |  824  |  825  |  826  |  827  |  828  |  829  |  830  |  831  |  832  |  833  |  834  |  835  |  836  |  837  |  838  |  839  |  840  |  841  |  842  |  843  |  844  |  845  |  846  |  847  |  848  |  849  |  850  |  851  |  852  |  853  |  854  |  855  |  856  |  857  |  858  |  859  |  860  |  861  |  862  |  863  |  864  |  865  |  866  |  867  |  868  |  869  |  870  |  871  |  872  |  873  |  874  |  875  |  876  |  877  |  878  |  879  |  880  |  881  |  882  |  883  |  884  |  885  |  886  |  887  |  888  |  889  |  890  |  891  |  892  |  893  |  894  |  895  |  896  |  897