General Osteopathic Treatment and the Neuro-Endocrine-Immune Axis

Exploration of GOT, Heart Rate Variability, and Vagal Stimulation

Instructor: Pascal Grolaux, DO(UK)

Lesson content

1. You will review the General Osteopathic Treatment (GOT) as pictured by JM Littlejohn and promoted by J Wernham.
2. You will understand the central autonomic network and its relation to the body systems (e.g., the brain-heart-axis).
3. You will learn the basics of the neuro-endocrine-immune system's bi-directional communication with the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in cases relating to autoimmune diseases, chronic pain syndrome, mental health, and more.
4. You will discover the osteopathic centres in relation to the neuro-endocrine-immune system and will integrate them along the practice of the GOT.
5. You will understand how to perform osteopathic manipulative treatment along the practice of the GOT, specifically targeting the ANS and the immune system.
6. You will understand how the GOT via relevant and appropriate general and specific techniques acts on these systems and will impact the sympathetic-vagal balance as demonstrated by heart rate variability analysis.

Summary of the themes that will be seen:

• Review of the General Osteopathic Treatment and the osteopathic centres
• Neuroanatomy: ANS review; and specifically, the vagus nerve
• The limbic system and the central autonomic network
• Neuro-endocrine-immunology (NEI) and the anti-inflammatory reflexes
• The heart-brain axis
• Short-term heart rate variability analysis and the sympathetic-vagal balance
• Applied osteopathic treatment targeting the neuro-endocrine-immune system and the vagus nerve to modulate the sympathetic-vagal balance

Day 1:

Theory:

• Review of the philosophy and principles of the GOT
• Review of the neuroanatomy and the neurophysiology of the
  ANS and specifically, the vagus nerve.
• The neuroanatomy and functions of the autonomic central
  network, and the limbic system.
• The anti-inflammatory reflexes in relation to the vagus nerve.

Day 2:

Theory:

• The heart-brain axis.
• Overview of the osteopathic centres linked with the ANS and
  the neuro-endocrine-immune centers.
• Heart rate variability analysis based on short-term EKG

Practice:

• Applied osteopathic treatment, general and specific treatment,
  targeting the ANS and neuro-endocrine-immune reflexes (groups
  of two).
• Practice of heart rate variability analysis – Biomarkers analysis
  and discussion

Days 3 and 4:

Practice:

• Practice of heart rate variability analysis (groups of two).
  Baseline analysis. Discussion.
• Applied osteopathic treatment, general and specific treatment,
  targeting the ANS and neuro-endocrine-immune reflexes (group
  of two).
• Practice of heart rate variability analysis (group- of two). Post
  treatment assessment.

Discussion & Review of the Course