Osteopathy in Europe

Osteopathy is a primary contact and patient-centred healthcare discipline, that supports a whole-person approach to all aspects of health and healthy development, principally by the practice of manual treatment emphasising the interrelationship of structure and function of the body and facilitating the body’s innate ability to heal itself.[1]

In 2025, there were 79,302 osteopaths in Europe. Of these 45,093 were statutorily regulated and registered osteopaths and it was estimated that 34,207 osteopaths were not statutorily regulated and registered but may be registered with voluntary registering organisations.[2]

History

Osteopathy was brought to the UK, by graduates of the American School of Osteopathy (ASO) in Kirksville, Missouri, founded in 1892 and the very first osteopathic school. These graduates opened their osteopathic practices in the UK from 1902 on. From the UK, osteopathy came to continental Europe, before being introduced to the rest of Europe first through France and later through Belgium.[3][4]

National associations

There are several national associations in Europe, where many of them were established during the 80s and the 90s. The British Osteopathic Society was the first one established in 1903, recently renamed as  the Institute of Osteopathy.[5]

List of current osteopathic associations in Europe.
Association Country established
osteopathie.be Belgium 1978[6]
Belgische Unie van Osteopaten/Union Belge des Ostéopathes Belgium 1996
Union Professionnelle de Médecine Ostéopathie Belgium 2004[7]
Unie voor gediplomeerden in de kinesitherapie en osteopathie Belgium 2005[8]
Verenigde Osteopaten Belgium 2023
Cyprus Osteopathic Association Cyprus ?
Danske Osteopater Denmark 2013[9]
Balti Osteopaatide Assotsiatsioon Estonia ?
Suomen Osteopaattiliitto Ry Finland 1988[10]
Association Française d’Ostéopathie France 2003[11]
Syndicat Français Des Ostéopathes France 1973[12]
Verband der Osteopathen Deutschland e.V. Germany 1994[13]
Πανελλήνιος Σύλλογος Οστεοπαθητικών Greece 1992[14]
Osteópatafélag Íslands Iceland 2002[15]
Osteopathic Council of Ireland Ireland 2013
Registro degli Osteopati d’Italia Italy 1989[16]
Association Luxembourgeoise des osteopaths Luxembourg ?
Malta Association of Osteopaths Malta 2019[17]
Nederlands Register voor Osteopathie Netherlands ?
Nederlandse Vereniging voor Osteopathie Netherlands ?
Norsk Osteopatforbund Norway 1993
Towarzystwo Osteopatów Polskich Poland 2005[18]
Associação dos Osteopatas de Portugal Portugal 1990[19]
Associação Independente de Osteopatia Portugal 2017[20]
Društvo osteopatov Slovenije Slovenia ?
Federación Española de Osteópatas Spain ?
Associción de Professionales de Osteopatía Spain 2007[21]
Registro de Osteópatas de España Spain ?
Sociedad Europea de Medicina Osteopática Spain 2000[22]
Svenska Osteopatförbundet Sweden 1983[23]
Institute of Osteopathy United Kingdom 1998[5]

Regulation

The recognition/regulation of the osteopathic profession varies from country to country; in some countries osteopathy is recognised and regulated, in others it is recognised but not yet regulated or also not recognised and not regulated. Regulated by law normally means that the title ‘osteopath’ is protected by law, and that osteopaths and/or osteopathic physicians can only use the titles if they meet certain statutory conditions in terms of competencies and registration and/or licensure. This would normally require statutory registration, as the health professional must comply with set standards of practice that protect the patients they treat; statutory regulation is set out in national or state/provincial law.[2]

As of 2025, osteopathy or osteopathic medicine is regulated in twelve European countries: Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK.[24]

Where osteopathy is regulated, there is often a legal requirement for continuing professional development. In countries where osteopathy has voluntary registration there are informal requirements, usually defined by national associations.

Osteopathy Europe

Osteopathy Europe (OE) is an organisation which represents professional associations of osteopaths from different European countries in order to promote standards, regulation and recognition for osteopaths in Europe.[25] OE is a member association of the Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA),[26] which is an organisation promoting the advancement and unity of the global osteopathic profession.

Osteopathy Europe (OE) has four committees: the Research Committee, Education Committee, Communication Task Force, and Policy Committee.[27] The Research Committee promotes research impact, facilitates collaboration, and disseminates evidence-informed practices to improve patient care. The Education Committee develops and reviews educational policies and standards, providing guidance on education and its links to research and professional regulation. The Communication Task Force advises on best practices for promoting osteopathy, acting as a brand guardian and enhancing communication between OE and its members. The Policy Committee develops and reviews policies on osteopathic development, advising member organisations on statutory regulation.[27]

Education

Most osteopathic practitioners are trained to Level 6 or Level 7 standard of education (Bachelor or Master level). While it is recognised that osteopathic training varies between countries, there are two standards that are  widely used in European osteopathic training: (1) European CEN-standard, and (2) WHO Benchmarks for Training in Osteopathy.[28] European standardisation (EN 16686) defines, i.e., how many training hours a program must have, how many ECTS are needed, and how many individual patients osteopathic trainees have to consult in order to qualify for the exam.[25] WHO’s benchmarks for osteopathic education describes sufficient level of training, clinical competence, and standards for safe practice.[29]

References

  1. ↑ CEN 16686:2015, European Standard Osteopathic healthcare provision
  2. 1 2 Global review of osteopathic medicine and osteopathy 2020 - Osteopathic International Alliance, https://oialliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OIA_Report_2020_FINAL_Summary.pdf
  3. ↑ Baer, Hans A. (1984). "The Divergent Evolution of Osteopathy in America and Britain". Social Science & Medicine. 19 (7): 717–725. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(84)90244-2. ISSN 0277-9536. PMID 6548836.
  4. ↑ Gevitz, N. (2004). "The D.O.s: Osteopathic Medicine in America". Medical History. 34 (2): 223–225. doi:10.1017/s0025727300050791. ISSN 0025-7273.
  5. 1 2 "iO History | Institute of Osteopathy". oldsite.iosteopathy.org. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  6. ↑ "Histoire de l'union professionnelle". osteopathie.be. 2025-05-14.
  7. ↑ "UPMO". test.upmo.be. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  8. ↑ "Historiek | UKO". www.uko.eu. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  9. ↑ "Om Danske Osteopater". 30 May 2024. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  10. ↑ "Liiton esittely". Suomen Osteopaattiliitto. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  11. ↑ "Présentation". AFO. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  12. ↑ "Qui sommes-nous ?". www.osteopathe-syndicat.fr (in French). Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  13. ↑ "Der VOD e.V." Verband der Osteopathen Deutschland e.V. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  14. ↑ "Ο Σύλλογος". Πανελλήνιος Σύλλογος Οστεοπαθητικών. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  15. ↑ "Um félagið". Osteópatafélag Íslands. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  16. ↑ "Registro degli Osteopati d'Italia". Roi Registro degli osteopati d'Italia. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  17. ↑ "Malta Association of Osteopaths". Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  18. ↑ "PUBLIKACJE". Towarzystwo Osteopatów Polskich. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  19. ↑ "Por uma osteopatia de excelência". AOST Associação dos Osteopatas de Portugal. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  20. ↑ "Sobre Nós". AIO Associação Independente de Osteopatas. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  21. ↑ "Quienes Somos". APREO (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  22. ↑ "Historia". Sociedad Europea de Medicina Osteopática (in Spanish). 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  23. ↑ "Om SOF". Svenska Osteopatförbundet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  24. ↑ "Regulation – Osteopathy Europe". Archived from the original on 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  25. 1 2 "About – Osteopathy Europe". 4 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  26. ↑ "Member Organisations - Osteopathic International Alliance". 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  27. 1 2 "Committees - Osteopathy Europe". 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  28. ↑ MacMillan, Andrew; Gauthier, Patrick; Alberto, Luciane; Gaunt, Arabella; Ives, Rachel; Williams, Chris; Draper-Rodi, Dr Jerry (2023). "The extent and quality of evidence for osteopathic education: A scoping review". International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 49 100663. doi:10.1016/j.ijosm.2023.100663.
  29. ↑ "Benchmarks for training in traditional - complementary and alternative medicine: benchmarks for training in osteopathy". World Health Organization.
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