Osteopathy is a way of detecting, treating and preventing health

  problems by moving, stretching and massaging a person’s muscles

  and joints.

 

Osteopathy was first proposed by A. T. Still MD in 1874 in the USA.

 

The principles of osteopathy emphasize the interrelationship between

  structure and function of the body and recognizes the body's ability

  to heal itself; it is the role of the osteopath to facilitate that process.

 

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) methods may broadly be

  classified as:

  Active Method: A technique in which the person voluntarily performs

   a practitioner-directed motion.

  Passive Method: techniques in which the patient refrains from

   voluntary muscle contraction.

  Direct Method: a strategy by which the restrictive barrier is engaged

   and a final activating force is applied to correct dysfunction.

  Indirect Method: a manipulative technique where the restrictive

   barrier is disengaged and the dysfunctional body part is moved away

   from the restrictive barrier until tissue tension is equal in one or all

   planes and directions.