This can disturb the circulatory system or nerves to any part of the body, and affect any aspect of health. Osteopaths complete a four or five-year degree course combining academic and clinical work. This is similar to a medical degree, with more emphasis on anatomy and musculo-skeletal medicine and includes more than one thousand hours of training in specific osteopathic technique. While Biomechanics†has become one of the most rapidly developing areas of medicine in recent years, Osteopathy was one of the first professions to incorporate biomechanical analysis to determine how injuries occur and what the secondary effects are likely to be. To take a simple example: if you go to an Osteopath with a shoulder injury, the Osteopath will do much more than just examine and treat your shoulder. They will want to know exactly how the injury occurred in order to assess, not just which tissues in the shoulder are injured, but also whether there may be any involvement of other areas with a mechanical relationship to the shoulder, such as the neck, elbow, mid back and maybe even pelvis, and the associated soft tissues.
