Transcript The Magic of Osteopathy - Indiana Osteopathic Association

THE MAGIC OF
OSTEOPATHIC
MEDICINE
David Eckstein Goldman, JD, DO, FCLM
Physician / Psychiatrist / Attorney At Law
Assistant Professor,ATSU/Kirksville College of
Osteopathic Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor, Southern Illinois
University School of Medicine
Fellow in the College of Legal Medicine
Medical Director, The Goldman Group, LLC
CEO, Goldman Educational Services
www.thegoldmangroup.org
In 1874, Andrew Taylor Still MD DO (1828-1917), a medical
doctor living on the Missouri frontier, discovered the
significance of living anatomy in health and disease.
Dr. Still realized that optimal health is possible only when all of
the tissues and cells of the body function together in
harmonious motion. He reasoned that disease could have its
origins in slight anatomical deviation from normal. He then
proved he could restore health by treating the body with his
hands, naming his innovative approach to restoring health:
Osteopathy.
Dr. Still understood that the human body is composed of many
parts, all intimately related as a functional whole. More than a
hundred years ago, Dr. Still realized that the human being is
more than just a physical body. He envisioned a totally new
medical system that acknowledges the relationships of the
body, mind, and spirit.
KEY ELEMENT OF LIFE
Water is a richly complex substance
that is vital to our physical existence.
Without water, life as we know it would
not exist! Scientists can help us
understand why water is so essential
to life, but they do not fully
comprehend its chemical and physical
properties, nor can they explain where
it came from, or why it exists.
At the University of Georgia they found
that in every human body all diseased
cells (no matter what the disease) were
surrounded by what is called
"unstructured" water. And they also
found that every healthy cell was
surrounded by "structured" water.
"Unstructured" water simply is missing
one electron from its outer orbit, and
"structured" water has no missing
electrons.
© Copyright 2013 David Eckstein Goldman All Rights Reserved
Lean muscle tissue contains about
99% water by weight. Blood contains
almost 70% water, body fat contains
10% water and bone has 22% water.
Skin also contains much water. The
human body is about 60% water in
adult males and 55% in adult females.
At the age of ten, young Andrew Still suffered from frequent headaches
with nausea. He constructed a rope swing between two trees, eight to
ten inches off the ground. He lay down using the rope for a swinging
pillow. He wrote, “I lay stretched on my back, with my neck across the
rope. Soon I became easy and went to sleep, got up in a little while with
headache all gone.” 1 He continued to use this ‘treatment’ successfully
every time he had a headache.
Many years later Dr. Still considered his ‘rope swing treatment’ of
headaches, and realized ... “I had suspended the action of the great
occipital nerves, and given harmony to the flow of the arterial blood to
and through the veins...I have worked from the days of a child...to obtain
a more thorough knowledge of the workings of the machinery of life, in
producing ease and health.” 2
As a practicing physician Dr. Still diligently researched and developed
osteopathy. He discovered that he had the ability to put his hands on
patients, change their physiology and restore health. He developed a
very practical way of treating people using just his hands.
We continue Dr. Still’s tradition of healing today…;….
REFERENCE: Still A.T., Autobiography. Published by the Author. Kirksville, Mo., 1897
HUMAN ENERGY
What makes us uniquely
alive and human is the bioelectrical-chemical axis that
exists within our body. The
Mind, body, and spirit, as
described by Dr. A. T. Still in
his theory of Osteopathic
healing involves the “laying
on of hands” and with it the
use of and transmission of
energy from Physician to
Patient and back again.
© Copyright 2013 David Eckstein Goldman All Rights Reserved
PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF OSTEOPATHIC
MEDICINE
The philosophy and science of osteopathy is based upon the following four
principles:
1- STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ARE INTERRELATED
2- THE BODY IS A SINGLE DYNAMIC UNIT OF FUNCTION
3- THE BODY POSSESSES SELF-REGULATORY AND SELF-HEALING
MECHANISMS
4- RATIONAL TREATMENT IS BASED ON APPLYING THESE
PRINCIPLES
REFERENCES:
1. Still A.T., Osteopathy Research and Practice, 1910, Kirksville, MO, Eastland Press, reprinted 1992
2. Still A.T., The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, Hudson-Kimberly Publication Co., Kansas City, Mo., 1902
3. Still A.T., Autobiography. Published by the Author. Kirksville, Mo., 1897
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ARE INTERRELATED
From the smallest cell to the largest bone, all of anatomy is alive
and in constant dynamic, rhythmic motion. Blood flows, lymphatics
drain and cerebral spinal fluid fluctuates.
The heart beats and the ribcage expands and contracts with each
respiration. Each and every organ gently moves as it functions.
Each and every structure has its own inherent rhythmic activity.
This is the living anatomy that we as osteopathic physicians feel
with our hands. When this motion becomes impaired, the tissues
will not function as they were intended.
As a result of this altered motion, symptoms develop, and disease
may even occur. Dr. Still described this process in the following
way, “Disease is the result of anatomical abnormalities followed by
physiologic discord.” 1
1. Still A.T., Osteopathy Research and Practice, 1910, Kirksville, MO, Eastland Press, reprinted 1992 p 9
THE BODY IS A SINGLE DYNAMIC UNIT OF FUNCTION
There are many unifying systems within the body:
1) The circulatory system supplies blood to every tissue and organ.
2) The nervous system connects and integrates all of the body’s functions.
3) A third unifying system is comprised of a connective tissue matrix called
fascia. The fascia is a continuous sheath of living tissue that connects the
body front to back, head to toe. It surrounds every muscle, organ, nerve
and blood vessel. A primary function of this fascial system is to support and
lubricate.
Thus, the circulatory system, the nervous system and the fascia all help to
organize the body into a unified continuous whole. No single part exists
independent of the whole. When even a small part of the body does not
function optimally, the entire person is affected.
Dr. Still stated, “The rule of artery and vein is universal in all living beings, and
the osteopath must know that and abide by its rulings, or he will not succeed as
a healer.” 3 Dr. Still used these words to describe the essential need for optimal
fluid exchange.
3. Still A.T., The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, Hudson-Kimberly Publication Co., Kansas City, Mo., 1902, p 58
THE BODY POSSESSES SELF-REGULATORY AND SELFHEALING MECHANISMS
Dr Still stated, “All the remedies necessary to health exist in
the human body.” 4 He understood that within the tissues,
there is an inherent wisdom, a wise all-knowing restorative
force, an intelligence within every cell that keeps the body
well.
When a state of discord arises, this healing force acts to
restore functional balance and harmony. Sometimes the
body’s self-healing forces can be impaired or impeded by
disease or structural imbalance.
As Osteopathic Physicians we are trained to augment these
intrinsic mechanisms to help the body to better and more
quickly heal itself.
4. Still A.T., Autobiography. Published by the Author. Kirksville, Mo., 1897, p 43
RATIONAL TREATMENT IS BASED ON APPLYING
THESE PRINCIPLES
Osteopathic treatment applies these principles with a
sound and thorough knowledge of anatomy and
physiology. An osteopathic medical approach to treatment
typically integrates osteopathic manipulation to restore
structural freedom in the tissues, enhance fluid flow
throughout the body, and creates the optimal setting for
healing to occur.
THE POWER AND MYSTERY OF ENERGY
We know that energy can be positive or
negative. We know that energy can be
healing or destructive. While we cannot
always see energy, we are aware of its
results and impacts. We know that
energy from concussive explosions can
cause traumatic brain injury with
resultant damage to cognitive function as
well as limbic function---destructive to
mood. We know that traumatic energy
can cause musculoskeletal injury
causing the dislocation of vertebral
segments. We know that healing can
occur with the application of muscle
energy, Jones Counter Strain, High
Velocity Low Amplitude (HVLA) or
indirect energy technique. Let us ever
be mindful of the destructive power of
energy, so that as Osteopathic
Physicians we apply it appropriately.
© Copyright 2013 David Eckstein Goldman All Rights Reserved
Let us ever be mindful of the destructive
power of energy, so that as Osteopathic
Physicians we apply it appropriately.
OSTEOPATHIC TREATMENT
•Treatment is typically very gentle. Tissues
are supported and allowed to change.
Usually very little force is used during
treatment, but at times some force may be
necessary. Diagnosis and Treatment are
said to blend into one another. As tissues
change the physician learns more about
their nature. As the nature of the tissue
dysfunction is better understood, the
therapeutic response deepens
•Each patient’s experience is unique. Some
patients sense only a gentle touch, while
others feel their body change immediately.
Some patients simply feel a deep sense of
relaxation, and others feel nothing at all.
Most patients feel a distinct change
following the treatment.
•Dr. Sutherland: “Allow physiologic
function to express its own unerring
potency rather than apply blind force
from without.”
. Brooks RE and Becker RE, ed. Life in Motion,Stillness Press, Portland,
OR, 1997, p 95
NUMBERS: connecting the dots and making it
all add up…………..
From Somatic Dysfunction to Lab
values, medication doses, dates
and times, weights and measures,
phone numbers and DEA
numbers…… Osteopathic Medicine
from 1874 to 2013, is awash in
facts and figures, numbers and
details. It often feels
overwhelming. Hence our
connection to each other:
colleagues and treatment teams,
referrals to specialists, “curbside
consults” from classmates and
professors, clinicians and
technicians. We are a
team…………
The key is NEVER WORRY ALONE. Always stay connected to fellow classmates,
interns, residents, fellows, and practicing colleagues. Osteopathic Medicine is a
family, a team, a fraternity/sorority……………… Colleagues help us connect the
dots and make it all add up………
STAYING CURRENT
It is important to stay
abreast of the latest
information in the
practice of
Osteopathic Medicine.
Read the latest
textbooks, journals,
attend the Scientific
Conferences such as
you are doing today at
the Indiana
Osteopathic
Association’s 32nd
Annual Winter Update.
Remember, the practice of Osteopathic Medicine is
both art and science combined to create the magic
of healing.
THE MAGIC OF
OSTEOPATHIC
MEDICINE
David Eckstein Goldman, JD, DO, FCLM
Physician / Psychiatrist / Attorney At Law
Assistant Professor,ATSU/Kirksville College of
Osteopathic Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor, Southern Illinois
University School of Medicine
Fellow in the College of Legal Medicine
Medical Director, The Goldman Group, LLC
CEO, Goldman Educational Services
www.thegoldmangroup.org