How an osteopathic practitioner MAP's the body
- Katie Davidson
- Nov 13, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 14, 2024
“When there is a disturbance to the blood, it disrupts harmony in anatomy that causes physiological changes.”
In order to see the body collectively while maintaining objectivity and efficiency in treatment, OMT’s use the abbreviation M.A.P during assessment and treatment.
MAP stands for:
Mechanics
Anatomy
Physiology
Together the components of MAP create a mechanical loop in which health or dis-ease can persist. Mechanics looks at the force vectors moving through the planes of the body. Anatomy consists of the joint morphology and tissue structure, while physiology relates to the specific functions of the tissues.
Understanding the mechanics, the anatomy, and the physiology of the human body allows us to understand what is normal and therefore abnormal in structure and
function.
Exploring MAP deeper starting with the anatomy:
Anatomy is all we have, it’s what we can interact with as manual therapists. Each joint in the body has a specific morphology (shape and structure) that allows musculoskeletal tissues to move the joint within specific planes of movement.
When the anatomy is normal the tissues are able to move within their plane smoothly, and rhythmically which create pumping mechanisms to move blood and fluids of the body around. When the anatomy is abnormal it can change the mechanical load of the tissues that cross the joint.
When the mechanics are disturbed there are abnormal lines of force (compression, tension, torsion, or shear) that place unnecessary stress on joints and the body as a whole. This causes tissues to begin to move outside their planes of movement (even on the micro level) which will impact the ability for tissues to function physiologically.
When the physiology is disturbed the body’s self-healing and self-regulating abilities are hindered as the abnormal joint mechanics begin to take precedence over autonomic regulation. This can create an abundance of physiological changes that are unique to each person and their lesion pattern.
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