Etiopathy: principle and benefits of this manual therapy

 Etiopathy is a method that uses exclusively manual techniques to treat dysfunctions in the body. What are the benefits of ethiopathy? What is the difference between an osteopath and an ethiopath? How does an ethiopathy session work?

Origin of etiopathy

Created in 1963 by the Frenchman Christian Trédaniel, etiopathy refers to a method of reasoning aimed at determining the causes of a health problem and suppressing them by acting on them. Its intervention techniques are exclusively manual. The term "etiopathy" comes from Greek aïtia ("cause") and pathos ("that which affects the body").

Etiopathy is part of the long tradition of manual therapies. As far back as we can go back to our origins, from Asklépios to Ambroise Paré, we still find traces of these techniques essential to the proper maintenance of the body in its natural functions.

Christian Trédaniel's work led to the writing, in 1979, by the Fundamental Principles for Etiopathic Medicine, a reference work that has been the subject of several editions reviewed and corrected by the founder himself.

Etiopaths who undertake to respect the ethical rules put in place by the profession are registered with the National Register of Etiopaths (RNE). Since 1986, the RNE has sent an annual list of its practitioners to the Ministry of Health.

Principle of etiopathy

Etiopathy is above all a method of reasoning, analysis and understanding of pathological phenomena: it makes it possible to identify the causes of dysfunctions in the human body and to eliminate most of them by exclusively manual techniques.

The body is considered mechanical, certainly complex and accomplished, but which sometimes breaks down. The etiopath is the "mechanical engineer" of the human body, which he studies in depth in order to find the real origin of the failure, that is, its cause, without confusing it with its effects.

Etiopathy thus seeks to determine the primary causes that cause the symptoms affecting the patient. By identifying these lesions, the etiopath goes back to the origin of the problem, treats it, and permanently removes its effects. It has precise manual techniques, inherited from the ancestral gestures of the rebuttal, but revisited in the light of the most recent anatomical data. It acts directly on the organs.

Etiopathy is a method of treatment that combines scientific analysis of pathological phenomena and manual action on the structures of the human body, in order to normalize their relationships and functions.

What are the benefits of etiopathy?

The field of competence of the etiopath is very broad and covers a large number of ailments. By manual joint, visceral or circulatory techniques, etiopathy makes it possible to trace back to the cause of the symptoms to treat them.

It is a practice that has good results in children and especially to relieve ear infections. By different manual techniques, the etiopath restores the drainage of the middle ear and normalizes the circulation of the ENT sphere. Five to seven sessions are needed to achieve total healing.

Etiopathy is also effective in overcoming all traumatic problems such as sprains, but also lower back, back, and neck pain is also common in athletes. The issue that is quickly addressed can be resolved in just a few sessions. Especially in runners, etiopathy can treat amenorrhea.

Etiopathy also relieves other ailments;

• the classic applications on the vertebral and locomotor apparatus, for example, carpal tunnel syndrome, periarthritis, cervicalgia, back pain, low back pain, cervicobrachial neuralgia, sciatic neuralgia, crural neuralgia...; 
• Strains, sprains, luxations.

The etiopath also provides solutions to the problems posed by:

• ENT disorders: conjunctivitis, sinusitis, otitis, rhinitis, certain respiratory allergies;
• Disorders of the respiratory system: asthma, bronchitis;
• Gastroenterological disorders: certain forms of hepatitis, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, colitis, sourness, gastric reflux, aerophagia;
• General disorders: certain forms of depression, anxiety, or insomnia;
• Gynecological and urinary disorders: infertility, cystitis, incontinence, disorders of the cycle or painful sexual intercourse, disorders related to menopause, organ descent;
• In obstetrics: nausea, vomiting, repositioning of the fetus.

What is the difference between an osteopath and an etiopath?

Etiopathy and osteopathy are very distinct professions. If there is certain proximity with osteopathy, etiopathy is distinguished by the invisible part of its method, namely the etiopathic diagnosis, and by its much wider field of action.

As far as training is concerned, the etiopath follows a 6-year training in one of the four schools approved by the International Institute of Etiopathy. The curriculum combines theoretical and practical learning. Throughout the six years of training, students are in practical internships with etiopaths, and in etiopathic clinics.

An osteopath is trained in one of the 70 French schools of osteopathy. Depending on the school, the training program varies and can last from a few months to 5 years.

The careful approach is also different. Etiopathy relies on the patient's symptoms in order to establish causal links based on anatomy, physiology, and clinical. In etiopathy, the major step is causal research, manipulation is its purpose. The management is only mechanical, it is for the practitioner to restore correct mobility of the articular and visceral systems.

In osteopathy, practitioners exercise energetics, fascia-therapy, cranial. Its analysis is based on the totality of the patient.

How is etiopathy practiced?

The etiopathy consultation takes place in two parts: the etiopathic clinical analysis and the treatment.

The etiopathic method is based on laws, established for a long time and unanimously validated by the scientific community: physiological interrelations, neurological processes, hormonal ...

Typically, two to six interventions are enough to treat common conditions. Treatment is lengthy in case of the chronic condition. Etiopathic treatment does not require maintenance consultation.

Contraindications to etiopathy

Strictly speaking, these are not contraindications, but areas in which etiopathy does not intervene.

Etiopathy does not act in cases of major damage (cancer, tumor ...), in imperative surgical indications as well as in severe microbial invasions.

If etiopathy uses gentle manual manipulation techniques to treat many everyday ailments, it cannot replace surgery or drug treatment when they are essential. In such a case, the etiopath immediately redirects his patient to the competent doctor.

How does an etiotherapy session work?

Etiopathic reasoning proceeds from a logical and orderly approach:

• collection of the facts expressed by the patient by means of a rigorous interrogation (symptoms experienced, functional discomfort, movement limitations felt...);
•  development of the etiopathic diagnosis: logical reasoning based on the elements collected in order to understand the real causes, and to evaluate their possible resolution by etiopathic intervention;
•  confirmation of the diagnosis through a thorough clinical examination if necessary;
•  assessment of the degree of scalability, i.e. severity or urgency of the exposed situation.

The etiopathic diagnosis leads to the most appropriate therapeutic gestures to reduce the lesions observed. Following a consultation, the practitioner usually gives advice to the patient in order to make the benefits acquired during the session sustainable.

The treatment offered to each patient is therefore personalized according to his pathology and his own particularities. The practitioner acts exclusively manually, without instruments or devices of any kind.

The etiopath intervenes through unopered joint mobilizations or specific tissue techniques aimed at the different systems involved in the patient's condition.

These specific gestures are aimed at musculoskeletal structures as well as digestive viscera, genitourinary or respiratory system. They allow the restoration of the functions of disturbed structures and are followed by a rapid improvement in the patient's condition.

How to choose your etiopath?

The successes of etiopathy encourage some people to claim the title of etiopath without having competence. To avoid confusion, it is essential to inquire beforehand.

In France, the teaching of etiopathy is exclusively provided in four free faculties: Paris, Rennes, Toulouse, and Lyon. Several health professionals (etiopaths but also anatomists, radiologists, emergency physicians, surgeons, anesthesiologists, biologists, etc.) ensure the proper acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge throughout the six years of training.

Etiopathy has set up professional structures, allowing it to control that the rigorous rules established are well respected. In addition, faced with the increase in the number of etiopaths, the National Register of Etiopaths (RNE) has set up a permanent commission in charge of the professional control of installations. It ensures discipline and control of compliance with the ethical and deontological rules of the profession.