The Place of Osteopathy in “First-line Therapy”, “Primary Care” or “Primary-contact Health-care”. Document by Luc Peeters, MSc.Ost. and Grégoire Lason, MSc.Ost. Joint principals of the International Academy of Osteopathy (I.A.O.) More information at www.osteopathy.eu

1. The Place of Osteopathy in “First-line Therapy”,
“Primary Care” or “Primary-contact Health-care”
Luc Peeters, MSc.Ost. and Grégoire Lason, MSc.Ost.
Joint principals of the I.A.O.
www.osteopathy.eu
For the International Academy of Osteopathy, the position of osteopathy within primary
healthcare is clear.
Primary healthcare is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and
other physical and mental impairments in humans. It is delivered and influenced by
practitioners in medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and allied health
professions and by governmental institutions and humans themselves.
Every individual is placed somewhere on a health/disease scale.
Health
Functional disease
Structural disease
Health/disease scale
This health/disease scale can be influenced by several factors as can be seen in the figure
below.
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2. Genetic abnormalities Environmental and
· single genetic inheritance occupational
· multifactorial inheritance · xenooestrogens
Health · antiandrogens
· chromosome
abnormalities · toxic substances
· mitochondrial inheritance
Mechanical
Lifestyle · loss of mobility
· nutrition Functional · adhesions
· smoking disease · congestion
· drugs, alcohol
· stress
Posture
Illness/Injury · gravity
Structural
· acquired damage · loss of energy
disease
· viruses and bacteria
· systemic
· iatrogenic Mental state
The multiple factors and events involved in disease
Genetic abnormalities, lifestyle, illness and injury, environmental and occupational elements,
mechanical, postural and mental state are the most important elements that influence an
individual’s place on the health/disease scale. Importantly, malfunctions or problems in one
of these elements reinforce other malfunctions.
The most important role played by osteopathy in primary health-care is in addressing
mechanical and posture aspects in the dynamic health/disease process. Osteopathy optimizes
health by restoring mobility in all tissues and by optimizing posture and mechanical defence
against gravity.
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3. Role of osteopathy within the primary health-care system
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