Osteopathy is a holistic complementary medicine approach that uses manual diagnostic and therapeutic techniques to support the body's self-healing capacity. This discipline is based on the principle of examining the complex relationships between the musculoskeletal, organ, nervous, and circulatory systems, and their effects on overall health. Osteopaths comprehensively evaluate the patient, considering their lifelong developmental history, and aim to correct structural and functional disorders in the body.

One of the primary goals of osteopathy is to optimize circulation from a cellular to a tissue level. Treatment aims to activate the body's natural healing mechanisms and restore functional balance. For instance, the root cause of a complaint in the temporomandibular joint, shoulder, hip, or knee, or of spinal curvatures like scoliosis, might be a dysfunction in a distant area, such as the ankle. This highlights the importance of treating the body as a whole.