These are conditions which we know are backed by research findings. However, this is a rather ‘un-osteopathic’ way of looking at things: there is always a debate in the osteopathic profession about the “treatment of conditions”. In our clinic in South Oxhey we profess to treat people, not conditions.

Why is this? Don’t we have enough proof of the efficacy of osteopathy in the treatment of such diseases as asthma, hypertension or athlete’s foot?

The problem is that “conditions” or labelled diseases are just that, labels: describing the symptoms is one thing, working out why they are occurring in a particular patient is quite another. There is no single “magic bullet” type of treatment because every patient will have his or her own experience and history. This is why research in this field is difficult to carry out.

This section describes some common complaints and tries to show how an osteopath might think with regard to the treatment of people with such problems.