• Case study 1, C3 - C5

• Case study 2, T10

Osteopathy is an art, a science and a philosophy.

It uses skilful hand touch, is a sensitive art, detects tissue tensions and searches micro-movements.

Osteopathy is science-based. It uses global and specific osteopathic tests allowing evaluation and diagnostic which will guide the corrective and appropriate osteopathic techniques.

Osteopathy is a philosophy. Established principles and foundations guides the osteopath in his therapy.

“Life is movement. Movement is life”

We restore their original movements to tissues, fasciae (sheaths around the muscles which form uninterrupted chains in the body), muscles, articulations and the fluid systems. It makes the metabolic and information exchanges in the body easier.

Let’s take an example

Picture a river bordered with trees. A storm passed by and a tree fell in the river. Leaves and branches have gradually piled up and blocked the flowing of the river upstream. The river flow has slowed down and finally stopped downstream.

But water is still flowing upstream and has to find a way out. Little by little it cuts furrows and small collateral streams so that it can go round the obstacle and back to its bed.

Nature is created in such a way that it can adapt itself.

Let’s take an example in the human body

The nerves, arteries and veins follow specific paths. They go through muscles and along bones which are their sheaths. When there is a trauma, muscle and fascia tensions reduce the protective sheaths. The flows (blood and neuronal) are diminished upstream too. The exchanges are lessened, the information (hormones, neurotransmitters, etc.) do not flow normally anymore. The body will have no other choice than to adapt itself.

The osteopathy action starts at this stage, i.e. the initial stage, and before any compensation took place, because the work is simpler. The osteopath does not only treat symptoms, but tries to understand why the body is not balanced.

Let’s get back to our example. The osteopath will search why the river does not flow and will remove the tree. If his / her work only consists of filling in the furrows, others will form and the origin of the problem will not be sorted out.

The laserpuncture action consists of opening neuronal paths by stimulating specific points.

The osteopathy action consists of:

• Releasing the muscle barriers ;
• Balancing the tissues and fasciae if there is a tension;
• Removing scar fibrosis;
• Restoring mobility to articulations;
• Stimulating the neuromuscle activity;
• …

Osteopathy restores the balance to the body which is more apt to receive and process the necessary information for its functioning.

Osteopathy can increase the potential of and strengthen the laserpuncture action, and help the body to regain its optimal physiology.

Let’s go back to our example:

The laser opens the gates to make the river flow again; osteopathy removes the trees to ease the river flow.

- Osteopathy of the fascia:

I obtained the best results with this technique this week. It has a real potential when combined with the laser treatment. It is also very important to work on the scars.

- Craniosacral osteopathy:

It is a key technique. The structures (skull – sacrum) and their mobility should be studied. There is a lot of work to be done at that level and I’m really hopeful in these techniques.

The central cord (spinal cord) is the craniosacral axis which is the most traumatized in case of paraplegia and quadriplegia.

Our skills are useful in that area.

- The visceral osteopathy:

It should be interesting to test it.

Our actions on traumas:

Stroke / Medical or surgical accident, etc.

The trauma is lessened at the structure level. In addition to our actions as stated above, we will focus on the wheelchair which is a source of muscle tensions.

In addition to paralysis, one part of the body is often stronger than the other part. The body is not well-balanced, which results in painful areas. Transfers, activities of daily living strengthen the scapular belt and the back. Parts of the body working too much become tensed, gibbosities, and even deformation of the spinal column appear.

A bad posture, back pain and less back mobility unbalance even more the body and increase the handicap.

Osteopathy can help to re-balance the body by working on soft tissues (stretching and forcing techniques), fasciae and lumbar articular.

Serious traumas with shocks (car accident, etc.)

In addition to the spinal cord trauma, there are often multiple injuries. Dysfunctions can often be found somewhere else and sometimes not related to the disability. The body adapts itself and tests will be performed to find out the best treatment in order to restore the best balance possible.

Our actions on disabilities

Spastic paralysis:

Gentle stretching and forcing, and fasciatherapy give good results. The muscle tensions decreased and was getting easier to obtain session after session. Clonuses are rarer.

Flaccid paralysis:

Pumping and forcing techniques are very useful, especially on limbs. The blood flow and metabolic exchanges increase, warmness comes back.

It was the first time that osteopathic sessions were performed after laserpuncture sessions. We observed that the sensations felt by the patient during the laserpuncture sessions were also triggered by the osteopathic manipulations. Such feelings were sometimes more accentuated and enlarged to areas close to the injury.

We observed the two following main effects from the osteopathic treatment:

·         Above the injury:
- Relief;
-  Muscles of the scapular belt relaxed / released;
-  Patient has a better sitting position;
-  The gravity centre changes;
-  A better control of movements and posture owed to better sensations in abdominal muscles and trunk.

·         Below the injury:
- Tingling sensations and warmness (inside the body or superficial);
- Pins and needles in projected areas;
- Burning sensations in projected areas;
- Shooting pain in projected areas;
- Pressure on intern organs.

Every vertebral level is related to a motor and sensitive vertebral segment.

At the neurovegetative level, each one corresponds to the functioning of an organ (for instance T2-T3 --> Budge’s citiospinal centre (vasomotion of the eye) is related to the common ocular motor nerve).

Thus it is interesting to test the craniosacral axis and the vertebral levels. Most of the times we noticed that the vertebral segments having a diminished answer to sensitivity or pain correspond to the vertebral levels which do not have a normal function.

If we correct these areas, the SCI individual often feels strong tingling and warmness in the corresponding vertebral segments.

It also happened that a SCI individual felt pain in testicles when I worked on the articular level in the lumbar area (L1-L4) – a sensation which he never had before.

As a rule, during the next sessions the SCI individual’s sensations (tingling and / or warmness) come quicker and are more intense in the parts that have already been worked on before and without having to stimulate the vertebral level again.

“Structure rules the function”

Our role is to work on body structures so that the body functions can be restored.

“Function implies the structure”

As soon as the function is restored (sensitivity for instance) and maintained with laserpuncture and osteopathy sessions, we give all the necessary keys to the body so that the structures can reorganize themselves and find back the balance in their functioning.

From the results I obtained this week, I’m very optimistic about the osteopathy complementarity after laserpuncture sessions.

Our role is to make the most of this potential and put our hands at the “disposal” of disable persons. They are fully entitled to have access to this therapy as much as the rest of us.

Last update: 16 Oct. 2008