Osteopathic Medicine in Chronic Pain

Abstract

Osteopathic medicine traditionally emphasizes the unison of all body systems including the musculoskeletal system. This recognition includes a reciprocal relationship between structure and organic function. The musculoskeletal system, including the bones, muscles, soft tissues, nerves, and spinal column can exhibit primary disorders, usually secondary to injury and degenerative changes, but it can also reflect many internal illnesses and may influence the process of disease through the circulatory, lymphatic, nervous, or other body systems. In this review, the authors make no attempt to include all aspects of the Osteopathic philosophy and how it may influence medical care. However, in the treatment of chronic pain, as well as other fields of medicine, Osteopathic approaches have long included the assessment of nociceptive and proprioceptive mechanisms in diagnosis and treatment. In this review, key anatomic, physiologic and homeostatic mechanisms, their scientific basis, and the influence they have on pain under pathological conditions are highlighted. A review of Osteopathic treatment techniques and examples of how they may enhance treatment strategies will follow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)