Fascial Osteopathy – A Holistic Approach

140 years ago, the American physician Dr. Andrew Taylor Still recognized and named the principles of osteopathy. Since then, osteopathy has continuously developed, in the USA, as well as in Europe and other parts of the world.

Osteopathy is an independent form of medicine that focuses on identifying and treating functional disorders. Osteopathic treatment is performed exclusively with the hands. The patient is considered holistically – as a unity of body, mind, and spirit, and also in terms of their physical unity on all levels.

My specialization in fascia therapy

From the very beginning of my osteopathic career, I specialized in the treatment of fascial structures and completed numerous advanced training courses in this area. Furthermore, I maintain regular professional exchange with the University of Ulm, a leading research institution for fascial science.

One model that particularly influences my work is the Fascial Distortion Model (FDM) according to Typaldos. I had the great honor of learning from the first generation of FDM practitioners who received their knowledge directly from the founder, Dr. Stephen Typaldos.

Typaldos developed the Fascial Distortion Model (FDM) during his work in emergency medicine between 1992 and 1996. He noticed that patients with similar complaints often used identical gestures and descriptions. A key moment was his encounter with a young female patient who had severe pain in her thigh but no apparent injury. When asked what might help, she pressed on a specific spot herself and said, "I think you just need to press hard here." When Typaldos followed her intuition, an immediate improvement occurred.

From this, he developed six basic pain gestures that can be associated with specific fascial dysfunctions. Today, these patterns are well-researched scientifically and confirm the close connection between the nervous system, fascia, and pain processing.