http://www.articleindex.com/Health/discover-
ing_osteopathy) recounts that an example might
be “a six-year-old boy who, while playing, falls
very hard on his bottom. He cries bitterly and com-
plains of pain over his sacrum for a week or so. A
kiss and ‘rub it better’ console him. During a sud-
den growth spurt as a teenager, the same boy com-
plains of low backache. By the age of eighteen, he
has his first attack of sciatica, which is helped by
anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxant medicine.
He gives up his favorite sport, rowing, because it
seems to aggravate the problem. In his late twen-
ties, married with a young child and a stressful job,
he begins to have an irritable colon and attacks of
cystitis. He takes antibiotics and changes his diet. At
the age of forty, he has a major attack of low back
pain and sciatica and is in bed for two weeks. At
this point, hoping to avoid surgery, he visits an
osteopath.”
Since the time of Hippocrates, the belief in the
self-healing capacity of the body has been acknowl-
edged. Dr. Still resurrected the innate healing con-
cept before the discovery of the law of homeostasis.
Homeostasis, a scientific term for balance, is the
process by which every living thing adapts in order
to keep itself stable and function to the best of its
ability. Homeostasis is a self-regulating activity, with
preset limits such as, in the blood there must be a
precise quantity of dissolved oxygen within maxi-
mal and minimal levels that keeps body tissues
working. The human body is constantly readjusting
to maintain this and other chemical and physical
forms of balance. When homeostasis is thwarted by
disease, injury, or other disruptive influences,
osteopathic treatment helps restore balance.
The osteopatic systems theory explores the
structure-function relationship in every cell of the
body. This is not limited to the cell—it involves the
functioning of the whole of the physical body—and
it gives us an insight into our mechanisms for sur-
vival and goal of well being. A “total body mem-
ory” contained by bodily cells, according to
osteopathic theory, leads to the idea of the body’s
requirement for the least possible therapeutic or
medical intervention.
Seddon and Cosechi also write, “Osteopaths
believe that health, and not disease, is the natural
heritage of humans. The human body has inside
itself—within certain limits—the capacity for self-
repair and correction. It can create its own reme-
dies, provided that good circulation is maintained,
a balanced diet is eaten, a positive attitude is held,
and—as far as possible—the individual lives in a
pollution-free environment. The self-healing
mechanism is the backbone and sustainer of the
principles and application of osteopathy.
Osteopaths believe that disease primarily originates
in the individual, and so they concentrate on the
person who is suffering rather than on the
microorganisms that are thought to cause disease.
There are, however, some stages of disease when
the changes it has brought about have passed the
point of return. In these cases, osteopathy can help
people to function to the best of their ability, given
the circumstances. Where necessary, an osteopath
will refer a patient for further specialist examina-
tion and treatment.”
See also HIPPOCRATES.out-of-body experience See NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE.overheating therapy See HYPERTHERMIA; ISSELS’S
FEVER THERAPY.overheating therapy 121