Nordic Osteopathic Congress: Oslo 2024

Nordic Osteopathic Congress: 14.-15. september 2024

Norsk Osteopatforbund is excited to welcome you all to Oslo for the 5th annual Nordic Osteopathic Congress.

Get your tickets today, and get your early bird price.

Best regards,
The Conference Committee

Lectures, Workshops, and Speakers at the Nordic Osteopathic Congress 2024

William H. Devine

Osteopath D.O.

Lecture and Workshop: An Osteopathic Clinical Approach to Headache and Shoulder Problems

The presentation will include diagnosis by myofascial patterning, common mistaken clinical conditions that could arise from referred and myofascial pain, and osteopathic approaches related to headache, neck and shoulder pains.  The workshop will follow up on treatment of common headache, neck and upper extremity problems. Use of indirect OMT and muscle energy OMT for many of the problems will be part of workshop. Important neurological considerations as well as post operative OMT will be discussed. 

About the Lecturer

Dr. William Devine has always had an interest in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM). Over the years he has expanded his interests in manual medicine. He has interests in medical education, medical history, medical research, and medical health policy.

He integrated osteopathic concepts and philosophy into his present osteopathic manual medicine practice. He is nationally and internationally known and respected as a lecturer and author of topics in osteopathic manipulative medicine.

As an osteopathic family physician his skills and interests expanded including hospital committee chair positions, executive committee, and board member.

He was a very active family practitioner for over 25 years, utilizing osteopathic principles and methods fully in his military and private practice. He was one of the original founders of the Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and served for 26 years.

Today he is recognized by many medical organizations nationally and internationally in his medical specialty of Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (NMM and OMM).

Christian Fossum

Osteopath, ass. Prof., School of Health Sciences Kristiania

Lecture: The Cervical Region and Symptom Sorting

This presentation will review the functional anatomy of the cervical region to highlight its possible role in a multitude of symptoms in the upper body, including upper extremities, thorax, cervical and head region. It will highlight the neural networks connecting cervical structures to the peripheral nervous system, local nociceptive pathways, the cervicotrigeminal system and the trigeminovascular pathways. The objective is to better understand the potential role this region may play in a variety of clinical presentations.

Workshop: Treatment of the Cervical, Cervicothoracic and Craniocervical Region

This workshop will review and demonstrate manipulative techniques for the treatment of key regions in the upper body. The techniques will include HVLA techniques, Ruddy Techniques, Soft – Tissue Manipulation and a variety of Still Techniques. The objective is to highlight clinically useful techniques that may be applied to a variety of patients with symptoms attributed to the discussed regions.

About the Lecturer

Christian Fossum, DO, is an Associate Professor at the School of Health Sciences, Kristiania University College. His previous roles includes Assistant Professor, Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (USA); Associate Director, AT Still Research Institute (USA); Vice Principal of the European School of Osteopathy (UK). He has lectured worldwide at under- and postgraduate levels, co-authored numerous papers and articles, and received several awards for his services to the osteopathic profession.

Line Rølvaag

Osteopath, Msc. | NOC 2024, Conference Moderator

About the Moderator

Line Rølvaag obtained her osteopathic degree in 2004. Prior to this, she completed her BSc in physiotherapy at Oslo MET. She has also studied ethics, religion, and philosophy at the University of Oslo. Additionally, she holds an MSc in Clinical Education from the Medical School, University of Edinburgh.

For the past fifteen years, Line has been teaching osteopathy at Kristiania University College. She operates a clinic in Kolbotn where she specializes in treating children and women’s health issues. Line has conducted workshops both in Norway and internationally. She has been a member of one of the committees of the Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA) for the past five years. Previously, she was also active in board work for the Norwegian Osteopathic Association.

Another area of interest for Line is osteopathic identity and how the profession can continue to evolve with a strong and distinct identity. She is committed to advancing the profession and ensuring its growth and recognition on a global scale.

Dr Oliver Thomson

PhD, Associate Professor University College of Osteopathy, London, UK 

Lecture: Making what’s wrong, right – how qualitative research can develop osteopathic theory and practice 

Using his recently published critical work highlighting what’s wrong with osteopathy (Thomson & MacMillan 2023) the threat of pseudoscience (Thomson & Martini 2024) and a predilection for anatomical possibilism (Hildalgo, MacMillan & Thomson 2024) Oliver’s presentation will explore how drawing upon and pursing a qualitative research agenda may ameliorate these problems and support the practice and teaching of osteopathy. 

About the Lecturer 

Dr Oliver Thomson practices as an osteopath in London, where he works in a multidisciplinary clinic. In addition to his clinical role, Oliver holds a position as an Associate Professor at the University College of Osteopathy where he leads the Doctoral programme and lectures/supervises undergraduates and postgraduate students.

His main research interests are using qualitative methodologies to understand the clinical reasoning, beliefs, behaviours and identities of health professionals and osteopaths and he has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in these areas. Oliver is also an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine and BMC Health Services Research.

Lluís Horta

Osteopath, Msc.

Lecture: Person-Centred Care and Osteopathic Research: Can we get a Match?

Osteopathy is a non-pharmacological complex intervention (NPCI) defined as a person-centred approach to health. This may be one of its strengths as a clinical approach and also one of its inherent characteristics. We have little data on the theoretical knowledge of osteopaths in relation to patient-centred care (PCC), on the current level of implementation of such approaches in daily clinical practice, or on whether research in our field is considering these characteristics of our profession.

Some authors highlight that NPCI are difficult to evaluate using standard randomized control trials. In this presentation, we will discuss recent developments regarding PCC and also the methodological challenges in incorporating the distinctive elements of person-centered approaches to research in our field. Finally, we will make proposals to solve those challenges based on data from recent studies.

About the Lecturer

Previously trained as a physiotherapist, Lluís graduated in osteopathy in 2005 at the Escola d’Osteopatía de Barcelona (EOB) in a joint programme with the European School of Osteopathy (Maidstone, UK) and obtained his Master in Healthcare (MSc Osteopathy) at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Helsinki, Finland) in 2023.

Although his main role is as a clinician in his practice in Palma (Mallorca), Lluís also has a lot of experience in sports medicine on site, and has been part of the Spanish Olympic Team with which he still collaborates. He is also currently involved in research projects in the field of person-centred osteopathy.

Since 2020 he is an active member of the Board of Osteopathy Europe and since 2024 he is vice-president of this organisation.

In addition to his clinical and organisational roles, Lluís has been an international lecturer focusing mainly on clinical reasoning, evidence-based osteopathy and person-centred care.

Matteo Turinetto

Osteopath, Msc.

Lecture: Close to My Heart

The “Mi stanno a cuore – Close to my heart” project aims to support the recovery process of children with heart disease surgically operated at the “Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Center for Child Heart Care” hospital in India, Chhattisgarh, Atal Nagar (Naya Raipur) adjoining OMT to their therapeutical pathway.
It was born from a collaboration between ROI and the Sri Sathya Hospital mediated by the pediatric cardiac surgeons Dr. Marco Pozzi and Dr. Ragini Pandey.

The project was developed in 2023 around three key points: assistance, research and education and was operative between october 2023 and April 2024. During this period thirty ROI’s osteopaths rotated providing more than 1500 treatment to more than five hundred children and preliminary analyses of collected data shows significant reduction in length of stay and reported pain. Moreover the project has met a strong support from ROI’s associates at large prompting a proactive attitude towards the association life.

This results and experience are worth to be shared with the international osteopathic community of practice to foster a wider application of OMT in service of our fellow human being and an active participation to the profession’s life.

About the Lecturer

Matteo Turinetto is an osteopath working in his private practice in Italy and autonomously in humanitarian settings abroad since his graduation in 2002.
He is senior lecturer, clinical tutor and Didactic Coordinator at Istituto Superiore di Osteopatia (ISO) since 2007 and actively participated in the design and validation process with Bucks New University of ISO’s BSc e MSc courses curricula.

In 2020 joined the ROI’s (Register of Osteopaths of Italy) Board as National Councilor supporting its efforts with activities aimed at associates’ involvement and the general public. In 23/24 he was one of the “Close to my heart” ROI project’s supervisors and developers.

At present, his main interests are to grow with his two children and to explore how evolutionary medicine can enrich osteopathy.

Isabelle Aguilera

Osteopath and yoga instructor

About the Instructor

Isabelle is an osteopath (since 2014), yoga instructor, BodyART master trainer, and breathwork facilitator. With seven years of experience running her own clinic, Isabelle is a seasoned professional in the field.

Beyond her osteopathic practice, she shares her expertise by teaching yoga, BodyART, and breathwork at her esteemed yoga studio in Stavern. Passionate about the breath and its potential, Isabelle believes in its transformative power, both in therapy and movement.