Vital Motions and Material Forms

We know life only by the motions of material bodies.¹
-- A. T. Still

Motion is not life. Motion is a manifestation of life.²
-- Rollin Becker, DO

If it moves, it can take care of itself.³
-- Stan Schiowitz, DO

Within the field of Osteopathy, the concept of motion -- and disorders caused by the lack of motion -- form the basis of many core principles of Osteopathy and provide a foundation for diagnosis and treatment. As Osteopaths, we place great value on identifying the presence, diminution, or absence of perceived motion. We utilize the presence or absence of motion in making a diagnosis. At the same time we respect that motion is a expression of life and is intimately involved with the self-healing and self-correcting mechanisms of homeodynamics. The detection of an integrated expression of motion is one of the Osteopathic perceptions of holism.

Dr. Still taught that, ". . . motion is the first and only evidence of life . . ."⁴ and that "We know life only by the motion of material bodies."⁵ He also said, ". . . it is useless to try or hope to know what life is in its minutiae."⁶ It would be presumptuous and preposterous for us to assume that Dr. Still knew what life was or could somehow capture it’s essence. He recognized that some "mysterious something"⁷ generically called life, animates matter. When life and matter are united, that union creates motion in, and associated, with matter. It is through perceiving this "living motion" that we have evidence of life. We know the actions of life by the display of it’s natural forces and by the vital actions of the material body. Vital action⁸, a term used by Dr. Still, is synonymous with living motion and is contrasted with the chemical and physical motions of inanimate objects based upon Newtonian physics.

Dr. Still classified his perceptual fields between what he called the "material and immaterial"⁹ and the "visible and the invisible."¹⁰ His use of "immaterial" and "invisible" was defined as having no physical substance or not consisting of matter. His definition of immaterial and invisible refers to the metaphysical aspects of what it means to be a human being. Immaterial was based upon function rather than form or structure. His definition of immaterial, in this biologic context, did not refer to something as having a lack of relevance or importance. To clarify this classification dissonance, I prefer to utilize the word "nonmaterial" in place of immaterial. I believe that nonmaterial, as a word, offers a generic definition of function or action that is more distinct. It represents a field or matrix that is not palpable but can be perceived by an alternative sensory system.

By dividing these sensory and perceptual fields between the material and nonmaterial, Dr. Still gave us an intimate way to understand the practical relationships between the objective science and the esoteric manifestations of perception. He revealed remarkable insight when he said, "Through our five senses we deal with the material body,"¹¹ and "High above the five senses . . . is motion."¹² He was revealing that we utilize our five traditional senses to work with the material body, its physical movements, and with the objective measurable segments of human structure. He said that "high above the five senses," or beyond palpation and the measurement of joint ranges of motion is a field of perception that identifies what he called vital motion, the processes of life, absolute motion, living motion, vital actions, and life in motion. William Sutherland, DO echoed this sentiment when he said, "By knowing, I mean not information gained by physical senses but a knowledge that comes from getting as far away from the physical sense."¹³

We use these "high above" other-sensory perceptions to engage the vital motions that drive living material form.¹⁴ The real work of an Osteopath is to identify the vital motions and utilize this force as a motivation for healing. Dr. Still said that "Life terrestrial has motion and power . . .."¹⁵ I would add that the power to heal or self-correct is found within motionwhich is a perceivable effect of life.

When Dr. Still said, "Find it, fix it, and leave it alone"¹⁶ I believe he was telling us to find the lack of motion (or what Osteopaths clinically call inertia), help restore motion, and then leave it for the self-healing mechanisms to do the rest. Stan Schiowitz, DO practically reiterated this classic Osteopathic axiom when he said, "If it moves, it can take care of itself."¹⁷ To diagnose the lack of motion and to help restore any quality of motion to the disordered region is the quintessential goal of an Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment. Restoration of motion, not alignment of the musculoskeletal system, activates the therapeutic process that bring about healing.

Dr. Still did not only speak of the nonmaterial or invisible aspects of motion. He was well grounded in applied antatomy and what we now call biomechanics. He was a master anatomist. He was also a machinist and an inventor. He applied the physics of inanimate mechanics to the living machine of a human being. He recognized the importance of restoring gross material motion as in the correction of inadequate joint range of motion, improving the flow of obstructed arterial blood supply, enhancing venous return from congested tissues, increasing the movement of clogged-up lymphatics, and unblocking nerves so that normal nerve flow and function could predominate.

Dr. Still absolutely said of the Osteopath, "He watches the motion; then starts to rustle with cause and effect."¹⁸ As Osteopaths, we first watch and observe. We quantify mechanical motion to determine if pathophysiologic restrictions occur. We patiently wait for the presence or absence of subtle, nonmaterial motions to identify the ability of the tissues to generate a therapeutic process. We try to see if motion is compartmentalized or regionalized. We attempt to identify and quantify the overall vitality of the motion. We don’t just assess the quantity of motion, more importantly we consider the quality of motion. From this stage of assessment we begin to arrive at a series of diagnoses, or what Dr. Still called "cause and effect." Clinical cause and effect are for an Osteopath one of the elements of discovering interrelationships. Osteopathic diagnosis is based upon the recognition of connections. We identify the near or distant interactions of material dysfunctions that cause disease. And, we uncover the altered interactions that occur between nonmaterial motions with pathologic anatomic regions so that healing may be initiated.

Accessing the nonmaterial requires an education quite different than the one we receive within the physical boundaries of Osteopathic medical school. Learning to engage the nonmaterial requires a "school" without boundaries. We access the nonmaterial via the fulcrum of love, which has no structure and cannot be objectively delineated and measured.

Material and nonmaterial motions are a manifestation of life. The great beauty of Osteopathy, as taught by Dr. Still, is the conscious recognition that we work directly with the visible and the invisible effects of life. Both physical motions and vital motions are inseparable aspects of form and function that manifest the connected oneness of a human being.

Dr. Sutherland extended Dr. Still’s teachings and redefined the nonmaterial. Dr. Sutherland recognized that vital motions were represented by a rhythmic force he generically called Tides. He likened the processes of life to the periodic motions of the ocean. He used the ocean as a metaphor to explain his perceptual experiences of treating patients using Osteopathic Manipulation. However, he also recognized that the driving force of the Tides resides in Stillness, or in a dynamic living force that has no rhythmicity but contains the power that drives all living systems. He realized that the Tides were an effect of life and were an accessible force that could be used both diagnostically and therapeutically.

Every Osteopath works with the material through the musculoskeletal system using the principles of biomechanics and by having a thorough understanding of applied anatomy. Material education forms the overt foundation of every Osteopathic school. However, every Osteopath (whether they know it or not) accesses the nonmaterial processes of life every time our patients are touched in a caring and therapeutic way.

As Osteopaths, our material education is learned from the didactics of a classroom in the disciplined environment of a professional school. Our nonmaterial education is discovered from experiencing life and by having a consciousness open to possibilities extending beyond the confines of science. Our nonmaterial education embraces the art of Osteopathy.

Steve Paulus, DO, MS

¹ Still, A. T. Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, (1902, reprint, Osteopathic Enterprises, Kirksville, MO, 1986), p. 255

² Becker, Rollin. Life In Motion: The Osteopathic Vision of Rollin E. Becker, DO, Stillness Press, Portland, OR, 1997, p. 50

³ Schiowitz, Stan, From the lecture: Facilitated Positional Release given September 24, 2005

⁴ Still, A. T. Philosophy of Osteopathy (1899, reprint, American Academy of Osteopathy, Indianapolis, IN, 1977), p. 196

⁵ Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, p. 256

⁶ Ibid. p. 249

⁷ Ibid. p. 249

⁸ Still, A. T. Osteopathy Research and Practice, (1910, reprint, Eastland Press, Seattle, WA, 1992), pp. 25, 79, 87, 258

⁹ Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, p. 255

¹⁰ Ibid. p. 256

¹¹ Philosophy of Osteopathy, p. 25

¹² Ibid. p. 25

¹³ Sutherland, William. Contributions of Thought, Second Edition, Rudra Press, Portland, OR, p. 210

¹⁴ Paulus, Stephen. Health and the Therapeutic Process, Inter Linea: The Journal of Osteopathic Philosophy, Volume 3, Number 3, October 2001, pp. 1, 6-10

¹⁵ Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, p. 251

¹⁶ Still, A. T., quoted in Selected Papers for the Section of Technique and Manipulative Therapy, Published by Osteopathic Manipulative Therapeutic and Clinical Research Association of the American Academy of Osteopathy, p. 14

¹⁷ Schiowitz, Stan. From the lecture: Facilitated Positional Release given September 24, 2005

¹⁸ Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, p. 132