Osteopathy - the way from therapy to prevention
Item
- Title
- Osteopathy - the way from therapy to prevention
- Author(s)
- May Marion
- Abstract
-
Study Design
Problem-centered interview with six patients
Outline/Problem Definition
During my career as a therapist I kept and keep meeting patients who attend therapy due to a certain clinical presentation. But even after the original problem disappeared, they stay with me as patients. Often I care for them in a pre-emptive way. At this point I ask myself the question: “Why do patients keep attending therapy?”
Research Question & Objective
0) Which are the reasons for osteopathic long-term-therapy?
1) Which aspects are to be expected from the disease, the osteopath, the therapist and the environment of long-term therapies?
2) What significance does well-being have thereby?
3) What significance does quality of life have thereby?
4) What portion of the changes can be assigned to touch?
Hypothesis
Osteopathic treatment influences the different sensitivities of patients.
Relevance for the Patients
Changes in the sensitives of patients due to osteopathic treatments have a relevance.
Relevance for Osteopathy
The aim of the study at hand is to point out various motivations for a long-term therapy and to capture the changes in different sensitivities. The significance of the social component and of the aspect of touch shall also be accounted for in the interviews. Osteopaths may use this results for their own work, e.g. the importance of talking during the treatment.
Methodology
The main field of the questions in the problem-centered interview in this study refers to the components of well-being, which could have been changed by long-term therapeutic situation.
The target group for this investigation are people who see an osteopath over a longer period of time. Even after the “healing” of their so-called main problem the stay with the therapist as a “patient”.
Interviews were conducted with a total of six persons. The inquired patients were between 37 and 64 year old.
Results
The basic question “Why do patients attend therapy over the course of years although the primal problems ceased to exist?” could be answered. The more difficult it is for experts to define well being, life-satisfaction or quality of life, the easier it seems for the interviewees to express this terms but also the perceptions connected with them. Because of the various diseases of the interviewees restrictions of well being, life-satisfaction and quality of life appear. Restricted mobility, fears, sleep deprivation, restriction within everyday life, spare time or within the job, as well as decreased social contacts because of the disease are experienced by these patients. All of them report on pain, in most cases this led them to the osteopath. It is crucial that the osteopathic therapy can only have full efficiency in connection with the therapist. Concerning therapy pain reduction, improvement in mobility, in physical or psychic area or an obvious diminution of medication is cited.
Depending on the technique the therapist is carrying out, the interviewees report about relaxation up to sleep, a physical well being, warmth or floating, just to name physical indications. Because of therapy, operations could be retarded for years during the same level of quality of life. Concerning the psychic part, happiness, reduction of fear, joy of living or energy are named. Also tears of joy because of bettering or just out of a moment of happiness were experienced by the patient and also mentioned within the interviews.
Critical Reflection/Perspectives/Conclusions
All patients that took part in this study consulted therapists because of complaints, most often this was pain. Disease meant a change of life situation, due to the osteopathic treatment certain further changes in different sensitivities came along as well. For the interviewees osteopathy is a life-concept in the sense that they deal more consciously with themselves. Thus social contact and nearness is a crucial factor for long-lasting, long-term therapy. That means that osteopathy should unite social, economical and ecological ideas. - presented at
- Wiener Schule für Osteopathie
- Date Accepted
- 2009
- Date Submitted
- 1.2.2009 00:00:00
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Number of pages
- 146
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 13405
- Inst-Identifier
- 781
- Keywords
- Prevention
- Recommended
- 0
- Medium
- May.pdf
- Item sets
- Thesis
- Media
- May.pdf
May Marion, “Osteopathy - the way from therapy to prevention”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 18, 2024, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/3007