Article by Dr. Charlie Beck
Originally Published in the Holistic Living Magazine
Osteopathy is a system of medicine developed in the late 1800s by Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO. Still set out to improve the practice of medicine and surgery of the time, and did this by adding a new way of thinking about the body – he added the musculoskeletal system.
Dr. Still began to understand that the way the body and its tissues move (or do not move) can impact the health of the patient. If the patient’s body moved well and was free of impediment, they were typically not having symptoms. If the body was not moving freely, they had symptoms, and treatment to free the body often alleviated the symptoms. He called this new approach osteopathy, combining the Latin words for “bone” (osteon) and “suffering of “(pathos), and set up his practice in Kirksville, Missouri, a town of about 3,500 people at the time. A school soon followed in a one room schoolhouse and the first class in 1892 consisted of 21 students, six of whom were women.
Within 14 years they had expanded to include a 500-bed hospital and special trains that brought patients in from Chicago and New York. Those patients would stay a few weeks to get treated for their condition before returning home. Even today, Kirksville is roughly the size of Lebanon, Indiana, so osteopathy started from a small town and has grown to encompass the world.
Osteopaths in the U.S. are physicians (doctors of osteopathy) and are licensed to practice medicine in all 50 states. They practice in every specialty – family practice, emergency medicine, neurosurgical, etcetera, as well as osteopathic manipulation (NMM/OMM) – Still’s approach on how to manipulate the body. In the rest of the world they are non physician osteopaths (unless they also have other qualifications), performing only manipulation and not medicine.
Our fancy medical term for a joint or tissue that does not move optimally is “somatic dysfunction” – it indicates that there is altered motion in the tissue. It is not “out of place” or usually a “slipped or herniated disk,” but would be more like a door that cannot completely open and close. It can’t be seen with our current technology (X-ray, CT, MRI or ultrasound), but the patient can describe it and a trained osteopath can feel the altered motion. The restriction in motion can cause pain and/or discomfort, and is often the reason one would seek medical care. We learn that structure and function are interrelated in our training.
A more traditional doctor would prescribe medication for the problem, but the symptoms would likely return after the medication wore off. Surgery might also be indicated if the medication route did not get lasting results. This approach is not bad, but focuses mostly on the function (physiology) part of the equation – and if that is where your issue lies, you get results.
Osteopathic manipulation would set out to help gently restore those issues to their original motion – the practice sets out to help the structure part of the equation. This helps to relax the tissues, decrease swelling and restore a better blood flow – all of which promote healing. The osteopath can treat the bones, connective tissue (ligaments, tendons and fascia), blood vessels, organs (viscera), muscles and nerves to help restore improved motion and bring to the patient closer to optimal health.
Osteopathic physicians who specialize in osteopathic manipulation get to combine both sides of the equation to get more consistently optimal results. They primarily use manipulation to bring the body toward health, but can add medication, supplements, herbals, injections or IVs when necessary to help manipulation restore the body to its optimal state.
Dr. Beck’s practice is located in Lebanon, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis.
DR. CHARLIE BECK
Charlie Beck, D.O., F.A.A.O., graduated from the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine (now the University of Pikeville) in 2004. He was one of Pikeville’s first undergraduate fellows, staying an extra year in medical school to study osteopathic manipulation in more depth. Taught by Edward G. Stiles, D.O., F.A.A.O.Dist., Beck was given an excellent foundation for learning manipulative medicine. He is the first resident in neuromusculoskeletal medicine in the history of his hospital and his state (Westview Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana).
Beck has taken numerous classes across the U.S. and Canada, and is skilled in multiple techniques and modalities. He has taught courses and given presentations here in the U.S. for the American Academy of Osteopathy, the Osteopathic Cranial Academy, the Indiana Academy of Osteopathy, and numerous medical schools. He has also taught in Canada, Japan, Eastern and Western Europe, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, where he works yearly as a locum osteopath. He is the president of the Indiana Academy of Osteopathy, and a member and lecturer of the ALF InterFACE Academy. He is a published author and researcher.
As his learning deepens by working with others, he is always searching for the commonalities between different practitioners and healing styles. This has allowed him to bring together osteopathy with dentistry and vision to give a unique perspective on illness and injury. He continues to strive to integrate this learning into principles that are easily taught to others. His primary practice is in Lebanon, Indiana.