Ortho-Bionomy

The Ortho-Bionomy is a therapeutic form of gentle body work with the aim of auto-regulation. The targeted techniques are intended to strengthen the self-healing powers and thus enable the body to heal itself.

What is Ortho-Bionomy?

Ortho-Bionomy is a therapeutic form of gentle body work with the aim of autoregulation. In all Ortho-Bionomy techniques, the therapist works with his hands.

In all Ortho-Bionomy techniques, the therapist works with his hands. The method is seen as the practice of medicine and may therefore only be used in Germany by doctors and alternative practitioners on their own.

Many movement sequences and therapeutic grips in Ortho-Bionomy are reminiscent of osteopathy or Rolfing, also methods of gentle body work. The specially trained therapist, the so-called Ortho-Bionomy-Practitioner, carries out specific movement maneuvers with the patient relaxed on the couch. By remaining briefly in these defined positions or by strengthening movement patterns, certain muscle groups and tissues are addressed and stimulated.

The aim of the method is to identify poor posture of the joints, movement restrictions or muscular tension and to let go, to relax. The therapist thus sets the direction, but the actual work of regulation is always carried out by the patient himself, according to the overarching concept of orthobionomy. Ortho-Bionomy should not be confused with chiropractic or chiropractic either, because this gentle body work is not manipulative. The founder of Ortho-Bionomy is Dr. Arthur Pauls, an osteopath and judo teacher who died in France in 1997.

Function, effect & goals

Pauls also defined the overarching concept of the method he developed, namely to meet every person without any judgment and to fully respect their uniqueness.

As a concept of structured and steerable body energy, which Pauls refined over the years, Ortho-Bionomy is now understood by many practitioners as a special form of osteopathy. Pauls assumed that a body is initially in harmony and coherent. Therefore, after Ortho-Bionomy, only gentle support is required in order to guide all structures back into the correct movement paths. Ortho-Bionomy always follows existing movement patterns and only tries to reinforce them. This procedure enables the body to have a completely stress-free, stress-free reorganization.

In the USA the healing process is more widespread and also better known than in Europe. The practitioners united in the umbrella organization Society of Ortho-Bionomy International apply Ortho-Bionomy according to the guidelines of their founding father Dr. Paul's on. Since his death, however, like in osteopathy, numerous modifications of the procedure have been established.

The characteristic, the essence of Ortho-Bionomy summed up Dr. Pauls in his saying: “You can be who others want, who you should be, who you would like to be yourself or who you are“ together. In Germany, the use of Ortho-Bionomy is not reimbursable, so patients have to pay for the therapy sessions themselves. Treatments with Ortho-Bionomy are particularly suitable for all orthopedic diseases, for acute or chronic pain in the muscular and skeletal system, for functional disorders of internal organs, for hormonal and vegetative regulation or for general relaxation and stress relief.

In addition, Ortho-Bionomy should also be helpful for improving internal and external self-perception, for expanding expressiveness and increasing performance, and as an accompanying and supporting method for psychosomatic illnesses. The symbol of Ortho-Bionomy is the sand dollar. Although this makes a geometrically very regular impression, the center is not necessarily in the geometrical-mathematical center. The middle is different for every sand dollar, this is exactly the principle that Dr. Pauls on the people that each individual has its center somewhere else. And it is precisely this fact that particularly respects and takes into account the user of the Ortho-Bionomy in the original concept.

You can find your medication here

➔ Medicines against tension and muscle pain

Risks, side effects & dangers

In the practical application of Ortho-Bionomy it can be seen that its roots lie in osteopathy, which is also a healing method from America. Since it is a very gentle form of body work, the risks, side effects and dangers are manageable.

Since the term Ortho-Bionomy and the job title Ortho-Bionomy-Practitioner are not protected in Germany, the greatest danger for a patient is to come across an insufficiently qualified therapist. Ortho-Bionomy maneuvers should always be viewed and practiced as a medicinal treatment and never as wellness. Ortho-Bionomy always works with the 3 aspects of body structure and posture, movement impulses in muscles and tissues and with the human energy field.

In the latter aspect, the therapy hand does not necessarily have to touch the patient's skin, which is why there are certain parallels to spiritual healing or Reiki at this point. Patients do not necessarily have to undress for therapy with Ortho-Bionomy if all the intended movements can also take place in loose clothing. In addition, the procedure is practiced as a prophylaxis even if there are no symptoms.

Ortho-Bionomy should not be used in severe mental illnesses.Further limits of the method result from irreversible destruction of body structures that are considered incurable, for example advanced osteoarthritis or metastatic tumors. Even with acute skin infections or generalized febrile infections, any form of gentle physical exercise should be avoided for the benefit of the patient.