Dr. William Foley recently traveled to Ontario, Canada where he taught a course on Osteopathy. The teachings focused on the gastrointestinal system and its relationship to the Whole. The GI tract is easily underestimated in its relation to The Health of the whole patient and the content of this course covered its role in immunity, and its need for proper functional ease.
Osteopathy has always been grounded in science while striving to sense the nature of the human condition in its unadulterated form. As William Sutherland, D.O. said, “To the digger who will take the time to dream and the dreamer who will wake up and dig, the science of Osteopathy will unfold into a magnitude equal to that of the heavens.” With that in mind, Dr. Foley reviewed aspects of embryology, physiology, and anatomy as it relates to the digestive system. While covering these topics, Dr. Foley and his students tried to have a sensory experience of the digestive system functioning as a whole.
The topics covered by Dr. Foley in this course included the following points:
- The embryologic development of the GI tract from an osteopathic perspective as it relates to diagnostic and treatment fulcra
- The Seams, a concept first presented by James Jealous, D.O., and how they can be used to treat gastrointestinal disorders including a novel approach to the GI seam
- Recent research on the human micro-biome and the immune-digestion connection
- Sutherland’s approach to important areas pertaining to GI health.