Diego F. Hidalgo , Andrew MacMillan , Oliver P. Thomson
{"title":"‘It's all connected, so it all matters’ - the fallacy of osteopathic anatomical possibilism","authors":"Diego F. Hidalgo , Andrew MacMillan , Oliver P. Thomson","doi":"10.1016/j.ijosm.2024.100718","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Anatomy has been a cornerstone of osteopathic theory, practice and identity since the discipline's emergence in the 1800s and continues to be viewed as core knowledge to the present day. The domain of anatomical knowledge has provided seemingly endless rationales and explanations to justify osteopathic diagnosis, assessment and treatment. Moreover, knowledge of anatomy has been foundational for osteopaths' professional identity and conception of healthcare practice. Anatomical possibilism refers to the imagined, exaggerated, implausible and unproven relationships which are claimed to exist between anatomical structures. In persisting with such an approach to theory, practice and reasoning osteopathy may waste time, energy and intellectual capital and as a result fail to take advantage of opportunities to develop more plausible, ethical and person-focused approaches to patient care.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51068,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1746068924000117","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Anatomy has been a cornerstone of osteopathic theory, practice and identity since the discipline's emergence in the 1800s and continues to be viewed as core knowledge to the present day. The domain of anatomical knowledge has provided seemingly endless rationales and explanations to justify osteopathic diagnosis, assessment and treatment. Moreover, knowledge of anatomy has been foundational for osteopaths' professional identity and conception of healthcare practice. Anatomical possibilism refers to the imagined, exaggerated, implausible and unproven relationships which are claimed to exist between anatomical structures. In persisting with such an approach to theory, practice and reasoning osteopathy may waste time, energy and intellectual capital and as a result fail to take advantage of opportunities to develop more plausible, ethical and person-focused approaches to patient care.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine is a peer-reviewed journal that provides for the publication of high quality research articles and review papers that are as broad as the many disciplines that influence and underpin the principles and practice of osteopathic medicine. Particular emphasis is given to basic science research, clinical epidemiology and health social science in relation to osteopathy and neuromusculoskeletal medicine.
The Editorial Board encourages submission of articles based on both quantitative and qualitative research designs. The Editorial Board also aims to provide a forum for discourse and debate on any aspect of osteopathy and neuromusculoskeletal medicine with the aim of critically evaluating existing practices in regard to the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with neuromusculoskeletal disorders and somatic dysfunction. All manuscripts submitted to the IJOM are subject to a blinded review process. The categories currently available for publication include reports of original research, review papers, commentaries and articles related to clinical practice, including case reports. Further details can be found in the IJOM Instructions for Authors. Manuscripts are accepted for publication with the understanding that no substantial part has been, or will be published elsewhere.