What Is Palpation Actually For?

In this thought-provoking episode, Jamie Archer explores one of the defining skills of osteopathy: palpation. Has modern osteopathic education shifted too far towards memorising orthopaedic tests and clinical protocols at the expense of developing the osteopathic hand?

Through the principles of A.T. Still, applied anatomy, structure and function, clinical reasoning and osteopathic philosophy, this episode examines why palpation is far more than identifying restrictions. Discover how touch, anatomy and physiology combine to help osteopaths better understand the patient and why developing palpation is a lifelong journey.

Essential listening for osteopaths interested in osteopathic principles, osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), clinical anatomy and postgraduate osteopathic education.

What makes an extraordinary osteopath?

After more than 20 years in clinical practice, teaching osteopaths around the world and studying the work of A.T. Still, John Wernham and many of the profession's most influential thinkers, Jamie Archer set out to answer a question that has shaped his entire career.

What separates the truly exceptional osteopaths from the rest?

In this episode, Jamie explores the search for certainty in osteopathy, the limitations of models, the lessons learned from decades of teaching and travel and why the best practitioners often think very differently from what many osteopaths expect.

This thought-provoking discussion covers osteopathic principles, clinical reasoning, anatomy, patient care, postgraduate osteopathic education and the qualities that define the wise osteopath.

If you are passionate about osteopathy, committed to refining your technique and determined to become the best osteopath you can be, this episode is for you.

The LXO Podcast is brought to you by The League of Extraordinary Osteopaths, the home for osteopaths worldwide committed to pure osteopathy.

Find your home in The LXO: www.thelxo.xo.uk

At 16, Jamie joined the Royal Marines and came out of basic training top of the tree.

But when he joined an operational Commando unit, he realised he hadn’t reached the finish line.

He was only at the beginning.

Osteopathy is no different.

Graduation proves you are safe enough to start, not that you have mastered the profession.

In this episode, Jamie shares why the first one to five years in practice are so important, why experience alone does not guarantee improvement, and what it really takes to develop refined hands, deeper osteopathic thinking, and truly therapeutic technique.

If you feel there is another level to your practice, you are right. Jamie gives you shares five commitments that will transform your practice.

Join us in The LXO: www.thelxo.co.uk

In this episode we discuss and explore the history, origins and applications of Fryette's Principles in spinal mechanics.

If you're interested in learning more you can purchase our mini online course: Spine in Motion: How to Assess and Treat the Lower Cervical Spine - An ERS/FRS approach 

You can also get this course free as a member of The LXO: www.thelxo.co.uk

The respiratory diaphragm is far more than a muscle of inspiration.

Discover its role in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), circulation, lymphatic drainage, visceral mobility and whole-body health through the principles of osteopathy.

Between them, there is nothing Jason Haxton and Jamie Archer do not know about A.T. Still, the origins of Osteopathy and the techniques he used. In this episode be riveted by Jason's fascinating recounts of the history of A. T. Still and osteopathy and discover the roots of osteopathy.

Jason Haxton, MA, DO (h.c.) has been the director of the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine since January 2001. Besides managing the Museum that was created in 1934, he makes multiple international trips each year as an addition to many osteopathic online curriculums. He provides lectures, historic research materials and promotes the principles of osteopathic medicine through exhibits in the USA and abroad.

At A.T. Still University in Kirksville he keeps busy as Advisor to SAHOPs (Society for the Advancement of Historical Osteopathy and Philosophy Organization), along with teaching medical students and welcoming guests from around the world to the museum.

Jason worked on a variety of documentaries which includes the Historical Emmy award PBS 2017: The Feminine Touch Spanish 2019: The Science of Osteopathy and German 2020: Osteopathie Heilen mit den Handen.

He authored Andrew Taylor Still – Father of Osteopathic Medicine a biography for young readers (10-12 years). This is the first book of its kind approved for school curriculum in social studies. He contributed the opening history chapter on osteopathy for an Osteopathic text book – English and German Language Elsevier: Lehrbuch Osteopathische Medzin - Johannes Mayer & Clive Standen - published in British English in 2019.

In this episode we discuss Dr A T Still's Osteopathic Invention - The Treating Chair. Jamie explains the history of the chair, techniques Dr A T Still used and how there are only now two chairs in existence. 

Jamie's article on A T Still's Treating Chair

In this episode we discuss some of Dr A T Still's Osteopathic Inventions, including the uterine spoon, the osteopathic swing and the saint's rest.

Discover The LXO, online and face to face courses at www.theosteopathicacademyofappliedtechnique.com

Are we becoming better clinicians… while quietly losing what makes us osteopaths?

In this episode, we explore a shift happening across the profession. Stronger treatment, more repetition, more general approaches—and the growing reliance on tools and protocols. But what’s really driving it?

This isn’t about blaming modern practice. It’s about asking a harder question:

Are we drifting away from osteopathic principles and losing the ability to think and treat through our hands?

If you’ve ever felt uncertain at the table, relied on force instead of clarity, or questioned whether your hands are where they should be—this conversation will challenge you.

Because what you’re capable of as an osteopath might be far beyond what you’re currently experiencing.

In this episode, Jamie unpacks the well-known — and often misunderstood — phrase “Find it, Fix it, Leave it alone,” attributed to Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathy. He explores how the true meaning behind these words has been diluted over time, and how osteopathy risks being reduced to just another form of manual therapy. Jamie argues that osteopathy is a principled, philosophy-driven approach to patient care and this is what sets osteopaths apart. At its core, osteopathy is about clinical reasoning, respect for the body’s inherent capacity to self-regulate, and knowing when intervention is necessary — and when it is not.

Discover The LXO, online and face to face courses at www.theosteopathicacademyofappliedtechnique.com