Description
In the year 1874 I proclaimed that a disturbed artery marked the beginning to an hour and a minute when disease began to sow its seeds of destruction in the human body
— A. T. Still
This is a followup course to The Circulation 1: Life Blood (previously called The Circulatory System and Health) . It would benefit the osteopath who has already has gained experience in working with the vascular system and who wishes to explore this area of practice in more depth.
This course builds on the principles taught in The Circulation 1: Life Blood, and explores the role of the heart in the circulatory system. The course is orientated to the clinical application and osteopathic support of the heart and circulation and explores approaches to common clinical presentations. These include cardiac conditions, hypertension, the role of the vascular endothelium in chronic disease, the ageing cardiovascular system, and in the management of stress related problems.
Working directly with the circulation encourages an integrated approach to treatment through all systems of the body, and will enable you to apply osteopathic principles and philosophy in supporting health in your patients, including patients with complex clinical presentations.
Course structure:
- Before the course: 1¾ hours pre-course lectures and study. This must be completed before the course.
- 3 day face to face course: further theory lectures, clinical application and discussion, as well as plenty of time for practical work.
- After the course: two post course tutorials to help you integrate the learning into your practice, and post course learning resources.
Course aims:
- To review your understanding of the principles of the circulatory system taught in The Circulation 1: Life Blood (previously called The Circulatory System and Health) or The Rule of the Artery, discuss how this has influenced your osteopathic thinking, and to help you with any areas of difficulty in applying these principles in your clinical practice.
- To explore the embryology and anatomy of the heart from a functional perspective, and the relationship the heart to the whole circulatory system. The concept of the heart as a suction pump will be introduced.
- To explore how osteopathic treatment can help support optimum function in the dysfunctional heart, including some common clinical presentations. Topics included will be the regulation of blood pressure and hypertension, changes in the cardiovascular system with age, arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation.
- The effect of stress on the heart will be explored, including the role of the autonomics and the vagus, leading to clinical approaches to support calming of the stress response.
- To develop your understanding of the vascular endothelium and its role in maintaining health, and clinical scenarios where this breaks down leading to chronic diseases such as heart failure, diabetes and vascular dementia.
- To consider the heart as an emotional and spiritual centre, and its role in treatment.
- To continue to develop your osteopathic reasoning from the perspective of working directly with the circulation, how this influences your ability to support whole body health with osteopathic treatment.
- To be able to apply your knowledge and skills to a wide variety of clinical situations, considering the body as a whole in every treatment and how you can support optimum health in every patient.
- To be able to assess the benefits and risks of working with the circulation in your patients, what treatment reactions might be expected and how to minimise these risks.
