How to become an osteopath? What an osteopath needs to know and be able to

It is no secret that in modern times alternative medicine in many areas is becoming a worthy competitor to the traditional one. But it was her professional branch, represented by qualified doctors, and not sorcerers, sorcerers, and other scammers. Manual therapy is considered one of such recognized areas successfully developing in Russia. The second name is osteopathy. Patients appreciate it for the effective fight against diseases, the specialists themselves - for the opportunity to develop in an area that brings a stable good income. But how to become an osteopath? In this article we will share both theoretical and specific information.

What is osteopathy?

First of all, we will analyze the very concept of "osteopathy". This is a scientifically based methodology for the impact of specialist hands on physiological processes in the patient’s body. It helps both restore vitality, get a boost of vigor, and cure a specific disease.

The direction has an ancient history, however, it was scientifically justified only in 1894 by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. Behind him, both osteopathy itself and its basic principles were recognized by world luminaries - V. Andrianov, N. Amosov. However, even today there are people who consider this area a placebo, a quack activity based on the strength of the patient’s persuasion.

The most widespread development of osteopathy was in the USA. Scientific clinical trials are regularly conducted in this country to prove its effectiveness. Importantly, osteopathy is supported by the United States National Institutes of Health.

What diseases does osteopathy treat?

Osteopath - who is it, what does such a specialist do? Studies in the USA have proved that this is a doctor who can help cope with the following diseases, ailments:

• Acute and chronic lower back pain.
• Cerebral spastic paralysis.
• Pneumonia.
• Tunnel Syndromes.
• Otitis media.
• Postoperative nausea and vomiting.
• Muscle spasms.
• Emphysema.
• Pregnancy complications.

The results were also compared with the effects of placebo and traditional medical methods. Osteopathy was distinguished by high clinical and statistical indicators. It is important that the effect of manual therapy is cumulative in nature and continues to have a beneficial effect for a long time.

Osteopath: who is it and what is it doing?

It is important to note that the specialist does not treat the disease or its symptoms, but considers the patient's body as a whole. One of the basic principles of osteopathy is the unity of the musculoskeletal system.

How is the treatment going? The specialist uses the basic manual techniques:

• Muscle relaxation.
• Sprain
• Articulation.
• Rhythmic traction.
• Soft mobilization of joints and so on.

The main task of the chiropractor is to relieve the tension that has arisen in the tissues, to return them to the correct location, thereby contributing to the improvement of their functioning and general healing. In order for the patient to completely get rid of pains, post-traumatic consequences, the osteopath necessarily compiles a set of preventive physical exercises, a diet, gives professional advice on lifestyle and so on.

Chiropractor patients

Where does the osteopath take? As a rule, a specialist works in a specialized medical, rehabilitation, and sports center. Or opens his own private office.

I must say that the range of patients of a chiropractor is very wide - these are people from infancy to the most respectable age:

• The doctor determines the internal tension or malfunction of the internal organs in newborns. By the way, even modern medical equipment cannot find such dysfunctions.
• In older children, an experienced osteopath is able to determine the presence of microtraumas that do not manifest themselves in youth, but without appropriate therapy can turn into problems in adult life.
• The help of a chiropractor to pregnant women, new mothers during lactation is indispensable. At this time, taking a large number of medications is contraindicated. The doctor will help you to easily transfer the overload that the woman's body is experiencing.

In other words, a qualified specialist can correct the state of health, prevent the development of diseases in patients of different ages. It is likely that a grateful patient will recommend a doctor to his family and friends. Indeed, according to statistics from the European and American Osteopathic Societies, about 95% of respondents said that their condition improved markedly after a course of manual therapy.

Requirements for the future specialist

Who can become an osteopathic doctor? The applicant must meet the requirements that all official training institutions for manual therapists set for their students. The most common here are the following:

• Diploma of completed higher medical education.
• We will also list schools where students of 5-6 courses of specialization "General Medicine" are admitted. But they can begin to practice only after completing an internship / residency.
• You can become an osteopath with a secondary medical education. However, in this case, it is important to have work experience in a medical institution.

What is important to know before training?

If you want to become a good osteopath in Moscow, St. Petersburg or other cities of our vast country, then before retraining, getting a new specialization, first of all pay attention to the following:

• Contact only licensed schools that have official international or Russian recognition.
• Be sure to find out which document you will receive as a result of training. It must be a diploma, certificate of Russian or international standard. Only he will help you become a recognized specialist, worthy of trust.
• Many schools guarantee post-school employment assistance. In our economically unstable time, it will be important to find such an educational organization.
• Schools offer both full-time and part-time, distance learning forms. Since the training is quite serious, it takes 3-4 years.
• A big plus will be the fact of knowledge of a foreign language. So you can easily enroll in a school based abroad. Or study in Russia under the programs provided by honored foreign specialists.

You can find on the Internet a sea of ​​offers of short-term courses for non-professionals, people who do not even have secondary medical education. It’s worth understanding that these are just introductory lectures like “What should an osteopath know?” Note that in such courses it is impossible to obtain diplomas of international and state standards. After all, a chiropractor is a doctor, not an amateur amateur.

St. Petersburg - the center of domestic osteopathy

So your goal is to become an osteopath. Where do they learn professions? It is pleasant to realize that qualified preparation for the practice of a manual surgeon can be obtained without leaving the borders of Russia. It is believed that the most worthy training is offered in the Northern capital, where osteopathy became an actual treatment method back in the 1990s.

Why is St. Petersburg? Firstly, the first lecture in the country by Viola Freiman, the leading osteopath in the United States, was held here. The scientific conference was held at the Turner Leningrad Children's Research Institute, then headed by Professor V. L. Andrianov.

Secondly, it was here in 1992 that the first consultative and rehabilitation osteopathic center in the country began to operate. Many representatives of classical medicine thought about how to become an osteopath. Beneficial for the center was the adoption in 1994-1996. foreign experience from colleagues from the European School of Osteopathy (UK) and the Paris School.

Thirdly, in St. Petersburg you can find a large number of truly professional organizations that train osteopathic therapists. We give specific examples below.

Training Centers in the Northern Capital

How to become an osteopath? It is necessary to undergo training in one of the centers, schools, which train such specialists. Let us give examples of these organizations concentrated in St. Petersburg.

"School of Osteopathy on the Neva." It is important to note that this organization is not private, but completely state-owned. Thus, getting an education in it is strictly official.

"RAOmed" ("Russian Academy of Osteopathic Medicine"). It is noteworthy that the "Russian Academy …" in St. Petersburg was founded by graduates of the famous European School of Osteopathy (England). Here is a full-time training for specialists in this field of medicine, built on the example of European countries. The purpose of the "RAOmed" activity: to make osteopathy an independent direction in domestic health care.

It is important to note that the academy has concluded an agreement with ESO on a four-year full-time part-time training of Russian doctors in the direction of osteopathy. The programs used in the training of specialists are built on the manual and therapeutic experience of 10 European countries. Today, ESHO and its partners (including RAOmed) are the largest training network for osteopaths worldwide.

The Institute of Osteopathy on the basis of St. Petersburg State University and North-West Medical University named after Mechnikov. This is the first osteopathic educational institution to receive a state license. Education of osteopathy without a medical education is, of course, impossible here.

The Institute pays great attention to both practical and theoretical issues, as well as the formation of the so-called "osteopathic arm", which can "listen" and "understand" the human body, "communicate" with it. It is very important that the emphasis is on the individual work of the teacher with each of his students.

The training program for osteopaths at the Institute is implemented by both Russian and foreign teachers. After completing the course, a graduate is issued a state diploma. The document is recognized by the best world osteopaths.

IOM (Institute of Osteopathic Medicine) named after Andriyanov. Many international osteopaths recognize this Russian school as unique. IOM is a member of a wide range of global osteopathic organizations that guarantee the quality and compliance with the international standard of training received here. First of all, the guarantors are the European Osteopathic Academic Community and the International Osteopathic Alliance.

It is also impossible to teach osteopathy without a medical education. IOM provides training for doctors. But the specialty is not important, like work experience, place of residence, length of service. It is also possible to get students of 5th and 6th courses of specialization "General Medicine". One condition - students must go through residency or internship in the future.

RVSHOM ("Russian Higher School of Osteopathic Medicine"). Training courses are taught by experienced practicing osteopaths. It is important to note that this educational institution for manual therapy has state accreditation and a license. For graduates, the fact is significant in that they receive a diploma from the Russian Ministry of Science and Education, as well as a specialist certificate from the national Ministry of Health.

How is the training going?

How much does osteopath training cost? The cost of introductory courses starts from 15 thousand rubles. One lesson is about 800-1000 rubles. You can learn about the cost of full-fledged education in qualified schools by directly contacting the selection committee of these educational institutions.

How to become an osteopath, how is training organized? We already mentioned that the course is designed for 3-4 years. The main form of training is seminar (part-time). Roughly it is organized as follows:

• The first two years: teaching the basics of manual therapy, the main rules of osteopathic diagnosis. Then students study the main manual therapeutic approaches - cranial, structural, visceral.
• The next 1-2 years: the study of clinical osteopathic aspects - in obstetrics, pediatrics, etc. Detailed mastery of the technique for diagnosing diseases. An in-depth study of all existing osteopathic approaches - muscle chains, fascial techniques, strain-counter-strain and so on.

Where can a chiropractor work?

More and more doctors are seeking to become an osteopath specialist. This is primarily due to the fact that the practicing manual therapist is practically unlimited in choosing a place of employment:

• Osteopathic, physiotherapeutic, rehabilitation centers.
• Clinics of sports medicine, fitness clubs.
• Clinics of family medicine. In these medical institutions, osteopaths work in a team with "traditional" colleagues - neurologists, therapists, physiotherapists, etc.
• The opportunity to try yourself in teaching or research is to delve into the foundation of science, develop a new technique and so on.
• Start your own practice, open a private osteopathic office. However, graduates do not immediately take such a step - only after they have accumulated sufficient practical experience and their own client base.
• If the newly-made specialist has an international diploma, then this document will allow him to successfully practice abroad. As you know, in European countries, manual therapy is very developed, which leads to a high monetary reward for the work of a specialist.

Osteopathy in Russia and in the world is gradually occupying a well-deserved pedestal. Hence, there are many who wish to find their recognition in this direction. But do not forget that this is a vector of medicine. Therefore, training is available only to those with a medical education.