Osteopathy Vancouver e-mail

Home

Marc Jones, DO(UK)
Osteopath

Osteopathy

Osteopathic Articles

UK Osteopathic Fact Sheets

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Links

Contact and Addresses

Osteopathy For Pain Relief

Headaches - Stiff Neck - Whiplash Injuries - Arm Pain - Trapped Nerves - "Frozen" or Stiff Shoulders - Tennis & Golfer's Elbow - Wrist & Hand Pain - Low Back Pain - Sciatica - "Slipped Disc (Disk)" - Hip, Thigh & Knee Problems - Leg Pain - Back Pain in Pregnancy - Postural Problems - Calf, Shin, Ankle & Foot Pain - Pain & Stiffness from Arthritis - Sports Injuries.

Why Suffer Pain?

What do osteopaths treat? Click here

Osteopathy and Pathology

by Marc Jones, BSc(Hons)Ost, DO(UK), Osteopath
August 2005

As a registered osteopath with the General Osteopathic Council of the UK, it is mandatory for me to attend a number of CPD (continuing professional development) courses to continue my practise as an osteopath.

Recently, I attended a pathology update course over a very intensive weekend with the North & Mid Wales Osteopathic Society.

Although as an osteopath I will help many patients with their pain and dysfunctions, pathology is usually only treatable with pharmacology or surgery. When human tissue differentiates (changes or mutates) from a "patho-physiological state" to a "pathological state", osteopaths need to know what they can and cannot do to help their patients.

Pathology is taught over the final three years of the four year osteopathic degree for two reasons:

1. As a primary care practitioner, an osteopath must be able to identify symptoms that may have a pathological aetiology and refer appropriately when necessary.

2. When a patient presents to an osteopath with a known pathology (or a previous history), the osteopath must be able to treat using appropriate techniques, given the underlying conditions, or refer elsewhere.

To give you an idea of the more common types of pathology that we must be actively aware of in practise, listed below are the conditions that we reviewed in Chester, England recently.

Cardio-Vascular Pathologies

  • Arteriosclerosis
  • Atheroma
  • Malignant Hypertension
  • Ischaemic Heart Disease
  • Angina
  • Acute Cardiac Failure
  • Chronic Cardiac Failure
  • Cardiomegaly
  • Aortic Aneurysm
  • Vertebral Artery Dissection
  • Vertebro-basilar Arteriosclerosis
  • Vertebro-basilar Insufficiency
  • Deep Vein Thrombosis
  • Peripheral Vascular Disease
  • Neurogenic Claudication
  • Intermittent Claudication
  • Respiratory Pathologies

  • Viral Pneumonia
  • Bacterial Pneumonia
  • Pleurisy
  • Empyema
  • Tuberculosis
  • Asthma
  • Chronic Bronchitis
  • Cor Pulmonale
  • Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease
  • Emphysema
  • Lung Cancer
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Bronchiectasis
  • Pneumothorax
  • Gastro-Intestinal Pathologies

  • Abdominal Distension
  • Gingivitis
  • Glossitis
  • Gastro-oesophageal Reflux
  • Hiatus Hernia
  • Gastric Cancer
  • Gastric and Duodenal Ulcers
  • Crohn's Disease
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Coeliac Disease
  • Colorectal Cancer
  • Haemorrhoids
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Peritonitis
  • Diverticulitis
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Liver Cancer
  • Cholelithiasis
  • The above list is far from exhaustive. Throughout the osteopathic degree program in Britain, we cover a huge range of pathological disorders, some of which we will never encounter in practise.

    This, however, is no excuse to allow for gaps in our knowledge.

    Top

    Copyright © Marc Jones - Osteopath (UK), Osteopathy Vancouver 2003 onwards