Exercise based interventions are common in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. These interventions have been investigated in other manual therapy disciplines, but little empirical data exists about. osteopathic approaches to exercise. There is a need to examine the role of exercise in osteopathic undergraduate education and the osteopathic treatment and management of patients in order to identify, clarify and develop upon educational and professional needs of the practising osteopath. The aims of this thesis were to explore the integration of exercise therapy in the undergraduate osteopathic curriculum, gain an understanding of the interpretation and uses of exercise therapy in osteopathic practice and explore potential concordance between education and practice. To provide context for the studies in the thesis, preparatory work included . examining the historical and philosophical developments within osteopathy and the utilisation of exercise therapy and physical activity in wider health care provision. Curriculum evaluation of the intended (content analysis of course documents) delivered (faculty member perspective) and received (student perspective) undergraduate osteopathic curricula revealed the idiosyncratic and sporadic nature of documented and delivered exercise content. The intended curriculum was seen to pertain to academic education whilst the delivered and received curriculum was reflective of clinical education. There was evidence of shared desires from osteopathic students and faculty members who suggested that they would welcome a standardised, experiential, patient centred approach to exercise therapy. The interview study with practitioners revealed a patient centred approach to the use of exercise therapy. However there remains some confusion over the use and understanding of exercise terminology. Paradoxically with the stated patient centred approaches practitioners expressed exercise delivery using paternalistic language. Favoured modes of exercise showed common trends with other manual therapies such as the use of 'core stability' programmes, but bore little resemblance to those delivered during undergraduate education. Exercise therapy and its potential for use is a substantial issue for osteopaths and for education providers in the UK. There is some dissonance between clinicians reported patient centred care approaches and actual delivery of exercise advice. Exercise education in osteopathy and clinical practice are not concordant and clinical aspects of undergraduate education are not documented clearly and are largely opportunistic. There is a need for further consensus about the role of exercise therapy in osteopathic practice and this should be a driver for a more coherent approach across education and practice.

Purpose: This study explored therapeutic processes associated with developing a course for patients with persistent pain which integrated osteopathic treatment with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This 'third wave’ cognitive behavioural approach is effective for a range of physical and psychological problems, including persistent pain, and congruent with osteopathic principles of holism, function and agency, which provided a theoretical basis for developing an integrated intervention to promote resilience and well-being. A qualitative case study was conducted as part of a developmental research programme to explore how ACT could be integrated with osteopathic treatment for individual patients, and with what effects on processes and outcomes. Method: Linguistic ethnography was used to explore links between pain-related discourses, clinical decisions and responses to pain. Treatments were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded. Extracts referring to discourses about pain experienced during manual therapy were subjected to micro-level conversation analysis, sociolinguistic analysis of participants’ roles, and macro-level analysis of links to broader healthcare discourses. A reflective diary was used to explore experiential learning and integrate auto-ethnographic information. Results: Two distinctive forms of mechanistic and facilitative pain discourse were identified. In predominantly mechanistic discourses, agency and expertise were located with the osteopath, and intention was focused on fixing ‘broken’ parts and relieving pain using ‘familiar’ osteopathic techniques. In facilitative discourses, the osteopath adopted a more collaborative role, focused on developing the patient's body and self-awareness to promote more flexible, active pain responses. Practitioner challenges included learning how to shift intention between mechanistic and facilitative interventions, a process that was enabled by mindfulness and willingness to tolerate uncertainty. Conclusions: In this study, ACT-informed osteopathy involved facilitative discourses, associated with increased patient agency and flexibility in response to pain. Further research is needed to explore whether this pattern of discourse is robust in other clinical settings; relationships between mechanistic and facilitative discourses and therapeutic outcomes; and effects of ACT training on practitioner mindfulness and attitude towards clinical uncertainty. Findings suggest that this integrated approach could expand the scope of osteopathic care for patients with persistent pain, and is worth further investigation.

The purpose of this QI project is to educate current allopathic and osteopathic residents on the fundamentals of OMT as well as appropriate indications and contraindications for osteopathic manipulation therapy. In order to accomplish this goal, we propose to administer a pretest before giving a presentation on fundamentals of OMT and appropriate OMT referrals. Afterwards, we will perform a posttest to see if there was a significant increase in overall scores from the residents. We will then compile the scores into a spreadsheet and using data analysis, evaluate to see if current residents have had a significant improvement in overall knowledge of OMT fundamentals, indications and contraindications.

L’ostéopathie, depuis la loi du 4 mars 2002, n’est plus considérée comme un exercice illégal de la médecine. Néanmoins, le législateur a créé avec les décrets de 2007 un titre partagé entre des médecins et des non-médecins, sans créer une profession de santé. Sa nature controversée et son régime ambigu rendent l’ostéopathie en position inédite dans le paysage sanitaire français. Les textes définissent un titre, et non une profession ; les recommandations de l’organisation mondiale de la santé encouragent vers une reconnaissance d’une médecine complémentaire et l’Europe incite via ses directives à reconnaître une profession réglementée. En France, la règle est souvent née de la pratique et la réalité du terrain doit être confrontée à la règle. Sans oublier que le patient doit rester avant tout le moteur, l’axe principal ainsi que le repère qui doit animer les juristes, les professionnels et les législateurs. / Osteopathy is no longer considered as an illegal practice of medicine after the Act of the 4th of March 2002. However, following the 2007 decrees, the legislature created a shared title be-tween physicians and non-physician, without creating a health profession. Its controversial nature and its ambiguous regime have put the osteopathy in unique position in the French health landscape. The texts define a title, not a profession. The recommendations of the World Health Organization encourage the recognition of complementary medicine and Europe via its guidelines incites to recognize a pro-regulated profession. In France, the rule is often born of practice and the reality must be faced by the rule. Without forgetting the fact that the patient must remain primarily the engine, the main axis and the benchmark that should animate law-yers, professionals and legislators.

This thesis deals with craniosacral therapy. It is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part describes the history, industry and principles of this method. It also gives basic information about craniosacral treatment and highlights the work of the craniosacral therapist. The work also describes the effect of stress on human health and shows the importance of psychosomatic view of the individual. It also aims to look abroad and shows two studies that examine the effectiveness of craniosacral therapy. The practical part aims to obtain empirical data using the questionnaire.

Les troubles de la stabilité demeurent fréquents chez la personne âgée, dont la chute, avec des conséquences néfastes sur l’autonomie. Trois essais randomisés ont été menés afin d’identifier les variables distinguant le sujet âgé autonome chuteur et d’analyser l’incidence d’un traitement ostéopathique. La 1ère étude concerne 33 sujets : 15 chuteurs (68,3 ± 2,7 ans) et 18 non-chuteurs (67,7 ± 2,5 ans). Trois paramètres stabilométriques et trois tests cliniques permettent de distinguer les deux populations (p < 0,05). Le traitement ostéopathique améliore les caractéristiques évaluées des sujets chuteurs (plus de différence significative). La 2ème étude concerne 40 sujets chuteurs lombalgiques : 20 recevant un traitement ostéopathique(69,5 ± 3,9 ans) et 20 ne le recevant pas (69,9 ± 3,4 ans). Cette étude permet d’identifier que la mobilité lombaire est restreinte chez le sujet âgé chuteur et que le traitement ostéopathique améliore l’amplitude de mouvement lombaire juste après le traitement ainsi qu’à sept jours (p ≤0,01). La 3ème étude concerne 34 sujets : 17 chuteurs (71,3 ± 3,5 ans) et 17 non-chuteurs (71,5 ± 4,2 ans). Quatre variables cinématiques permettent de distinguer les deux populations (p ≤ 0,04). Le coefficient de détermination R2 ainsi que le Gait Variability Index confirment cette distinction. Le traitement ostéopathique améliore les caractéristiques évaluées des sujets chuteurs (plus de différence significative). / Balance disorders, as the fall, remain frequently in the elderly, with adverse consequences on the autonomy. Three randomized trials have been conducted to identify the parameters distinguishing the “fallers autonomous elderly” and to analyze the impact of an osteopathic treatment. The 1st study concerns 33 elderly patients: 15 fallers (68,3 ± 2,7 years) and 18 no-fallers (67,7 ± 2,5years). Three stabilometric parameters and three clinical tests distinguish the two populations (p <0,05). Moreover, the osteopathic treatment improves the evaluated characteristics of fallers elderly (no significant difference). The 2nd study concerns 40 fallers and lombalgic elderly: 20 receiving an osteopathic treatment (69,5 ±3,9 years) and 20 without the osteopathic treatment (69,9 ± 3,4 years). This study identifies that the lumbar mobility is restricted for every fallers elderly and the osteopathic treatment improves the lumbar motion just after the treatment, as well as seven days after it (p ≤ 0,01). The 3rd study concerns 34 elderly patients: 17 fallers (71,3 ± 3,5 years) and 17 no-fallers (71,5 ± 4,2years). Four cinematic parameters distinguish the two populations (p ≤ 0,04). The coefficient ofdetermination R2 and the Gait Variability Index confirm that distinction. The osteopathic treatment improves the evaluated characteristics of fallers elderly (no significant difference).

The book distills the available information on osteoporosis into an easily comprehensible format that serves as a practical guide for busy clinicians. Contents:Definition & epidemiology -- Basic bone pathophysiology -- Bone densitometry -- Diagnosis -- Identifying patients at risk of fractures -- Non-pharmacologic management of osteopenia and osteoporosis -- Pharmacologic management of osteoporosis, part 1 -- Pharmacologic management of osteoporosis, part 2 -- Monitoring patients on treatment -- Vertebral augmentation procedures -- Corticosteroid-induced bone loss -- Primary hyperparathyroidism -- Premenopausal women -- Men -- Atypical femoral shaft fractures -- Osteonecrosis of the jaw -- Osteoporosis in children and adolescents. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1077/thumbnail.jpg

Summary: The FRAX algorithm assesses the patient’s probability of sustaining an osteoporotic fracture and can be calculated with or without densitometric data. This study seeks to determine whether in men, FRAX scores calculated without BMD, correctly identify patients with BMD-defined osteoporosis. Introduction: The diagnosis of osteoporosis is based on densitometric data, the presence of a fragility fracture or increased fracture risk. The FRAX algorithm estimates the patient’s 10-year probability of sustaining an osteoporotic fracture and can be calculated with or without BMD data. The purpose of this study is to determine whether in men, FRAX calculated without BMD, can correctly identify patients with BMD-defined osteoporosis. Methods: Retrospectively retrieved data from 726 consecutive Caucasian males, 50 to 70 years old referred to our Osteoporosis Center. Results: In the population studied, 11.8 and 25.3% had BMD-defined osteoporosis when female and male reference populations were used respectively. When the National Osteoporosis Foundation thresholds to initiate treatment are used, only 27% of patients with BMD-defined osteoporosis, but 4% with normal BMD reached/exceeded these thresholds. Lowering the threshold increased sensitivity, but decreased specificity. Conclusions: Our results suggest that FRAX without BMD is not sensitive/specific enough to be used to identify Caucasian men 50 to 70 years old with BMD-defined osteoporosis.

Cette recherche traite de l’évolution, en France, depuis les années 1950, durapport au toucher des corps dans le soin aux nourrissons. Elle est réalisée à partird’une enquête de terrain menée auprès de plusieurs centaines de jeunes mères et denombreux praticiens : guérisseurs traditionnels, ostéopathes et médecins.Notre société est marquée par l’accentuation régulière du processusd’individuation interdisant progressivement le toucher des corps y compris dansl’univers médical. Dans notre analyse nous distinguons deux formes de toucherrépondant à des attentes différentes et aux enjeux nettement distincts. Le premier estun toucher « manipulation », intrusif, enjeu de domination entre soignant et soigné.Le second est un toucher « affectif », mêlant contact corporel et affect, impliquant lamaîtrise des pulsions au sein d'une civilisation de plus en plus régie par un fortautocontrôle libidinal.Dans le cas du soin au bébé, ces deux facettes du toucher ont évolué selon unetrajectoire inversée : le toucher manipulatoire, longtemps jugé indispensable, a étéprogressivement discrédité à partir des années 1970 jusqu’à être condamné à partirde la décennie 90. Dans le même temps, le toucher contact, selon une dynamiqueexactement inverse, est passé de la stigmatisation à la valorisation.Dans ce contexte, l’ostéopathie apparaît comme une voie de compromis entre desinjonctions sociétales contradictoires : toucher mais sans entrer, être efficace maisavec douceur, agir rapidement mais en prenant le temps de l’écoute des mots et desmaux, s’impliquer personnellement tout en gardant une distance professionnelle, et,par-dessus tout, s’adapter à l’individualité du patient en tenant compte de soncontexte global familial, économique et émotionnel. Le succès de cette pratique et dece type de toucher met en lumière des attentes sociales complexes et sophistiquées etau-delà d’elles, un ensemble de représentations du corps de la personne à« accompagner ».4 / The purpose of this research is to study how caregivers in France have evolvedsince the 1950s in the way they touch a patient’s body, especially in the case ofinfants. It is based on a multi-centred field survey of young mothers andpractitioners: traditional healers, osteopaths and physicians.Our society is marked by the steady rise in the process of individuation whichincreasingly forbids us from touching one another, even in the medical environment.To analyse this process, we distinguish two forms of physical manipulation thatrespond to different expectations with regard to distinctly different issues. The first isan intrusive "manipulative" touch, whereby a relationship of domination between thecaregiver and his/her patient is established. The second is an "affective" touchmixing body contact and warmth, implying control of the drives within a civilizationwhich is increasingly governed by a strong libidinal self-control.In the case of baby care, these two facets of touch have evolved in Francefollowing a reverse trajectory: the manipulative touch, long considered essential, hasbeen progressively discredited since the 1970s leading to its condemnation in the1990s. At the same time, the contact touch, following an exactly opposite dynamic,has gone from stigma to valorization.In this context, osteopathy appears to be a way achieving a compromise betweencontradictory societal injunctions: touching without penetrating, being effectivewhile being gentle, acting quickly while taking time to listen to the patients’ claims,getting involved personally while maintaining a professional distance and, above all,adjusting to the individuality of the patient, while taking into account the overallfamily, economic and emotional contexts. The success of this approach highlights aseries of complex and sophisticated popular expectations and, beyond them, a set ofrepresentations regarding of the body and the patient’s identity.

This thesis explores the use of reflective practice in osteopathic medicine and uses the method to narrate my work as an osteopathic practitioner. It explores the development of perceptual diagnostic judgments, and the role of metacognition, intuition and palpation in osteopathic clinical reasoning. A qualitative interpretive approach was used with a novel narrative method as an organising structure. This was broadly based around reflective practice models of Gibbs, (1988), Kolb, (1984) and Carper (1978) and the ideas of Schön (1983). Descriptive texts were constructed from notes taken of my thoughts whilst in the presence of patients. This allowed access, as closely as possible, to my decision making process. Finally, the descriptive texts were expanded into narratives through dialogue with the existing literature and peer review. The narratives were then analysed using thematic analysis to derive an understanding of concepts arising from the data. This thesis argues that osteopathic clinical reasoning involves multisensory perceptual diagnostic judgments that begin as soon as the patient enters the clinic, and arise as a result of the use of mental and visual imagery and embodied senses. The multisensory information that is detected by a practitioner activates pattern recognition, analytic reasoning and provides explicit feedback used in decision making. Diagnosis occurs as a result of piecing together and interpreting the multisensory information whilst maintaining awareness of other diagnostic possibilities. The findings also suggest that osteopathic clinical reasoning involves the supervision of cognition by the metacognitive processes of meta-knowledge (MK), meta-experiences (ME), and meta-skills (MS). The latter are used to plan, monitor, analyse, predict, evaluate and revise the consultation and patient management as suggested by Pesut and Herman (1992). ME is demonstrated by the presence of judgments of learning used to ensure sufficient information has been gathered, and feelings of rightness that are used to perceive the correctness of information arriving and decisions made. The use of reflective practice in this research has developed the understanding of osteopathic clinical reasoning, and demonstrated that it provides a powerful conduit for change in practice. As a result, it enables the provision of better patient-centred osteopathic healthcare incorporating the biopsychosocial model of healthcare. Although rooted in my own osteopathic practice style and strategies, it should have resonance for those within the discipline of osteopathy and has implications for osteopathic education, training and research.