Introducing the new masterclass section

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In this issue, we are very pleased to introduce a new section of the journal. The purpose of the masterclass is to review aspects of practice that are of particular interest to osteopaths. Masterclasses may relate to specific treatment techniques, a particular management approach or management of a specific clinical entity. Typically, masterclasses are commissioned by the editors, however, we also welcome correspondence with prospective authors who have expertise in an area of clinical interest to osteopaths and who would consider preparing a masterclass. Masterclasses are intended to present information that is of direct interest to practitioners and should “contextualise the concepts discussed within a clinically relevant, logical and systematic framework which can then be adopted and applied by the reader to their own practice”.¹ We hope that masterclasses can bridge between scholarship and clinical practice in a way that practitioners find useful. Our first masterclass (pages 2–13) is by osteopath Luke Rickards, who provides an evidence in formed perspective of needling therapies in osteopathic practice. Despite the absence of instruction in needle therapies in osteopathic education, at least anecdotally, there appears to be substantial interest by osteopaths and other manual medicine practitioners in various needling techniques.

Interestingly, the regulatory agency for osteopaths in New Zealand, the Osteopathic Council of NZ, has recently made a decision to incorporate acupuncture/dry needling into the defined scope of practice for osteopaths. There will be some who welcome this move, whilst others may feel that the addition of therapeutic approaches beyond manually delivered osteopathic techniques threatens the integrity of the original osteopathic concept. As I started to consider this development, it became immediately apparent that to adequately explore questions about professional identity requires a clear picture of current practice. In searching for even the most basic descriptive data about osteopathic practice it's clear that we lack a detailed profile of current osteopathic practice – for example, exactly how many osteopaths use needle therapies? Such information is important if regulatory bodies, educational institutions and professional associations are to act in the best interests of the public and the profession. It's therefore pleasing that in this issue (pages 14–24), osteopath Paul Orrock reports survey data that informs knowledge about the profile of osteopathic practice in Australia.

Although the history of osteopathy extends more than 100 years, there is little literature outside of the United States, that addresses the ongoing development of the profession and the social and political forces that shape it. We are therefore pleased to be able to publish an essay (pages 25–31) by medical anthropologist Hans Baer who has been conducting research on complementary medicine for many years. Baer describes the evolution of osteopathy in Australia and NZ from its early development in the early 1900s through to its emerging legitimization including government funded education and statutory regulation.

Also in this issue is a retrospective chart review by Crow and Gorodinsky (pages 32–37) who investigated whether osteopathic manipulative treatment may be of benefit in reducing length of hospital stay for patients who had undergone abdominal surgery and subsequently developed ileus. In their introduction, Crow and Gorodinsky cite sources that estimate the annual costs in the United States for treating post-surgical ileus to be between $750 million and $1 billion. Although retrospective chart reviews cannot definitively establish treatment effectiveness, retrospective methods such as chart review and clinical audit are useful in identifying treatments that should be investigated further using more powerful prospective designs. The results of this study are encouraging and should be of real interest to all readers, particularly those in the United States who routinely work in hospital settings.

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Reference 

1. Beeton K. Masterclass editorial. Man Ther. 2008;13:373–374
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