I believe most of you are familiar with osteopathy and have undertaken some advice or treatments based upon its rich, deep experience and knowledge. 

My bigger interest in this discipline started only a few years ago, parallel to Wellbe’s health care offer development but even more, following my personal attention to the exercises prepared for me by an osteopath expert, as I searched for help in order to cure and improve my body condition, making it fit to cope better with the flow of time.

I believe I was lucky to get into the routine of the exercises selected for me individually by the team of experts gathered around our osteopath here in Pula. I like fitness, yoga, dance or exercises where the body moves and the mind flies freely, bringing joy and energy back into the body. However, to do that with complete awareness and understanding the consequences of your movements is another thing. Especially when you are not so young anymore and some wrong swing or snatch can cause pain and prolonged troubled condition.

Osteopathic medicine is a distinctive form of medical care founded on the philosophy that all body systems are interrelated and dependent upon one another for good health. This philosophy was developed in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still, MD, who pioneered the concept of “wellness” and recognized the importance of treating illness within the context of the whole body.

The osteopathy advocates the belief that the musculoskeletal system plays a vital role in health and disease and the conclusion is that the body contains all of the elements needed to maintain health, if properly stimulated. By correcting problems in the body’s structure, through the use of manual techniques known as osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), the body’s ability to function and to heal itself could be greatly improved. Osteopaths promote the idea of preventive medicine and endorse the philosophy that physicians should focus on treating the whole patient including lifestyle and environment, rather than just focusing on the current problem/symptoms.

Osteopathic practitioners have not enjoyed the “best press” from their beginning but they are certainly becoming more and more accepted for their particular brand of medical service (particularly as the practice of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) to cure disease is declining). Their struggle for recognition has been long and strenuous. In my humble opinion, they made their way and positioned themselves high in the world of physical therapy and rehabilitation, especially from sport injuries but not only that. The other areas where osteopathy is applied is anesthesiology, geriatrics, and emergency medicine.

Physicians licensed as Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs), like their MD counterparts, must pass a stringent national or state medical board examination in order to practice their medicine. Osteopathic physicians use all of the tools available through modern medicine including prescription medicine and surgery. They also may use OMM techniques to diagnose illness and injury, relieve pain, restore range of motion, and enhance the body’s capacity to heal.