Chisari, Melina (2003) A pilot study of the fundamental elements of osteopathic diagnosis as currently taught in the osteopathy course at Victoria University. Coursework Master thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Historically, osteopathic diagnosis used concepts such as the osteopathic structural lesion (OSL), or somatic dysfunction. However, these osteopathic concepts are poorly understood by other health professionals. As a result, there has been pressure on the profession to adopt a more "orthodox" style of diagnosis. Unfortunately, osteopaths often deal with dysfunctional, rather than pathological states. In addition, recent research has called into question the validity and reliability of many of the tests commonly used in osteopathic diagnosis. This study investigated how clinicians and teaching staff at Victoria University (VU) currently write diagnoses. Results indicated that most subjects had moved away from traditional osteopathic diagnostic models, and felt it important to identify "tissues causing symptoms", despite the lack of reliability of tests aiming to achieve this. There appeared to be no relationship between years of experience and any change in the way subjects write diagnoses. It was also noted that subjects' opinions differed in many cases from what is actually taught in the course. This raises the question of whether the model taught at VU for writing diagnoses needs to be revised to reflect current research and actual clinical practice. This minor thesis was written by a post-graduate student as part of the requirements of the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy) program.

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