| For Osteopathy | Krista Mckenna |

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Osteopathy is great form of alternative medicine. This practice was founded in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still (University of Maryland Medical Center, 2011). This process involves the use of conventional medicine with the use of alternative therapy more than conventional. Osteopaths work under the assumption that the musculoskeletal system controls all functions of the body and with proper treatment can help to control and prevent disease (University of Maryland Medical Center, 2011). Osteopathy can be effective form of current treatment by, increasing job opportunities, types of break through treatments and offering effective treatments,.
Osteopathy’s practioners or Doctors of Osteopathy (DO’s), these Doctors are on the cutting edge in today’s medical society. Currently statistics show that by the year 2020 the demands for physicians will increase from 50,000 to over 100,000 (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, 2013). Currently about 4,200 osteopathic surgeons graduate from med school each year. The demand for D.O. are going up in the workforce due to their knowledge of the complete understanding of the body (Krupa, 2012). These professions can give patients a complete treatment while undergoing conventional medicine, considering they still incorporate conventional medicine in their practices. With the high demand of health alternatives going up, this profession is extremely promising for up and coming D.O.’s allowing for more opportunity with the focus more on the body of the patient and what is best for the patient outside of conventional medicine.
The treatments that D.O.s offer for patients have preliminary evidence that has suggested its workings for some patients. One such therapy that is being used is cranialsacral therapy. This type of therapy for D.O’s suggests that since the brain and spinal cord are the direct source of the central nervous system D.O. doctors can diagnose and treat the patient by performing this type of therapy to the tissues and membranes that surround the brain and spine. According to the Upledger Institute on how cranialsacral therapy works, “With a light touch, the CST practitioner uses his or her hands to evaluate the craniosacral system by gently feeling various locations of the body to test for the ease of motion and rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid pulsing around the brain and spinal cord. Soft-touch techniques are then used to release restrictions in any tissues influencing the craniosacral system (Upledger Institute International, 2013).” This type of treatment can help offer relief from a multitude of problems here are few from Dr. Upledger’s website: * Migraines and Headaches * Chronic Neck and Back Pain * Autism * Stress and Tension-Related Disorders * Motor-Coordination Impairments * Infant and Childhood Disorders * Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries * Chronic Fatigue * Fibromyalgia * TMJ Syndrome * Scoliosis * Central Nervous System Disorders * Learning Disabilities * ADD/ADHD * Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder * Orthopedic Problems
Many patients have had great success with this type of therapy. One story implied the benefits of this type of treatment. A woman who was 59 years old kept having headaches, tiredness, and cough after having already received a few rounds of antibiotics. She went and had a 4 hour long session with Dr. Upledger claiming the right and left side of her body were not in rhythm with each other, after 6 weeks of crainialsacral treatment, she began feeling more energized and she could had less headaches. This type of treatment is also being done on children with autism as it can help relax the children. With this type of treatment that is being offered. It can help to heal the body by removing the stored stresses that occur from normal day to day activity (Upledger Institute International, 2013). Other types of treatment are