Our Bodies are Designed for Health
Most people come into osteopathy thinking they’re signing up for someone to “work on the sore area.” It makes sense. The more mainstream approach to body discomfort is to rub what hurts, strengthen what feels weak, or strip what feels tight. But osteopathy is built on an entirely different philosophy, one that goes deeper than chasing symptoms and far beyond the idea of “loosening tight muscles.”
A.T. Still, the founder of osteopathy, believed that the body already contains everything it needs to heal. Health isn’t something we add from the outside, but something we uncover by removing what’s blocking it. He saw the body as an intelligent, self-regulating system, constantly trying to maintain balance. When it can’t, it’s usually because something is in the way: mechanical strain, pressure, stagnation, swelling, or tension that disrupts the natural flow of blood, lymph, and nerve communication.
As osteopaths we have come to appreciate that the “artery reigns supreme”, meaning if we restore blood flow to tissues we are able to supply oxygen, nutrients, hormones, immune cells, to damaged tissues. If circulation was blocked or nerves were compressed, the system simply couldn’t deliver what the tissues needed. Remove the obstruction, and the body would immediately begin to correct itself.
Obstructions can present in many different forms. Restrictions in fascia can limit lymphatic drainage. Joint stiffness can alter nerve communication. Compensations can change pressure dynamics through the abdomen, rib cage, and pelvis.
This is why osteopathy doesn’t go straight to the painful area and start treating it. Pain is often the end of a long chain reaction, the effect, not the cause. Still’s work was centered around finding the reason something wasn’t working smoothly and addressing that, rather than simply reacting to symptoms. This approach is what allows osteopathy to have such a broad and profound impact, often where nothing else seems to help.
When I treat someone, I’m not only thinking about the tight muscle. I’m thinking about what that muscle is reacting to. Is something compressing a nerve? Is fluid getting stuck in an area that can’t drain well? Is the rib cage stiff, forcing other muscles to pick up the slack? Is the pelvis offloading pressure into the low back? Every part tells a story, and osteopathy is about following that story back to its origin.
Even now, living in environments that work against our biology; long work days of sitting, constant stress, excessive screen exposure, lack of movement and movement variety, these Stillian osteopathic principles are even more relevant. Our bodies are doing their best to adapt, but those adaptations come with strain. Layer upon layer, the system becomes overloaded, and eventually, something gives. Osteopathy helps peel back those layers so the body can return to doing what it’s designed to do.
If people understood osteopathy through this lens, they would stop seeing it as a treatment for pain and start seeing it as a tool for health, longevity, and structural resilience. It’s not about “fixing” your body; it’s about freeing it. It’s about working with your physiology, not imposing force on it. And it’s about recognizing that your body is far more capable — and far more intelligent — than most of us realize.
A.T. Still once said, “Harmony only dwells where obstructions don’t exist”. In practice, when you restore motion, improve fluid flow, and relieve tension or pressure, it heals and functions better. Remove the obstacles, and the system will take care of the rest.
