.png)
Osteopathic studies & qualification
Training, professional standards and scientific foundations of osteopathy in Germany – explained transparently to make quality, safety and professional competence comprehensible.
About osteopathy in Germany
Unfortunately, osteopathy is not a legally protected profession in Germany. Therefore, there is no uniform professional code of conduct regulating osteopathic training.
The most important professional association, the VOD (Association of Osteopaths Germany), only accepts members who have completed at least 1,350 hours of osteopathic training and have successfully passed an examination before the BAO (Federal Working Group of Osteopathy).
This examination includes both differential diagnosis and all core areas of osteopathy.
Challenges in education and certification
There are shortened training programs for alternative practitioners and doctors. However, these programs do not cover the entire spectrum of osteopathy.
This situation creates considerable uncertainty for patients, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a fully trained and officially recognized osteopath.
Furthermore, there is a growing risk that different professional groups will develop and offer their own interpretations of osteopathy, something we frequently observe in physiotherapy, for example.
We still find it incomprehensible that some professional groups practice osteopathy without a medical or alternative practitioner license. This constitutes a violation of the German Alternative Practitioners Act and is therefore illegal.
(Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, judgment of September 8, 2015, case no. I-20 U 236/13).
The need for clear educational standards
In order for osteopathy to finally receive the recognition it deserves as a certified profession, clear and binding training standards must be defined.
We therefore strongly recommend that patients always check the training and qualifications of their therapist at the following address:
Scientific evaluation of osteopathy (2009)
In 2009, the German Medical Journal published a scientific evaluation of osteopathic procedures.
In summary, reliable statements regarding the effectiveness of osteopathic treatments are currently only available for a limited number of diseases – especially for chronic pain syndromes of the spine.
However, some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) also indicate positive effects outside the musculoskeletal system, particularly in the area of the intestines.
These are typically functional disorders in which no primary, irreversible structural changes are assumed, such as:
-
Reduced performance in old age
-
Fibromyalgia
-
Recurrent middle ear infections
-
Childhood asthma
-
Infant colic (three-month colic)
The full scientific evaluation can be found at:
www.aerzteblatt.de/archiv/66809/Wissenschaftliche-bewertung-osteopathicischer-Verfahren