The first three books in the Mechanical Link series have covered a broad range of topics, including the spine, extremities, cranium, viscera, arteries, intraosseous lines of force and skin. Now, with this new book, the authors turn their attention to the diagnosis and treatment of nerves.
According to Andrew Taylor Still, “most disease comes from restriction in neural and/or vascular function.” It follows, then, that this book will be a significant contribution to our understanding of how Osteopathic manipulation can support and maintain the health of the whole body.
Over the course of my career—from studying with Dr. George Laughlin at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine to my terms as president of both the American Academy of Osteopathy and the Osteopathic Cranial Academy—our field has evolved in waves, as visionary clinicians have innovated and then promoted new ways of thinking about the work we do. This step-by-step expansion of our discipline has allowed us to target ever more subtle and insidious somatic dysfunctions. Thanks to Dr. Paul Chauffour and Dr. Eric Prat, we are at the cusp of another such expansion in our field. Since I met them almost 15 years ago, they have advocated for an approach to evaluation and manual treatment that is as intriguing and unique as it is comprehensive.
What I find particularly appealing about Mechanical Link is its detailed approach to anatomy. Finding the main restriction in the body and treating it in such a way as to change physiology as well as the mind and spirit is an art form. Chauffour and Prat provide the tools our profession needs to refine and improve how we practice that art. By offering a way to directly diagnose nerves and therefore recognize and treat hidden dysfunctions, their techniques will redefine manual medicine.
Stephen BLOOD, DO, FAAO, FAC
Solidly taking root in Japan thanks to the Japan Osteopathic Professional Association, osteopathy according to the Mechanical Link has undergone rapid development in Japan, where it is appreciated by many who are convinced of its value. By asking me to write the foreword to their book Mechanical Link: key points of the nervous system, Paul Chauffour (DO), Eric Prat (DO) and Dr Jacques Michaud (DO) have greatly honored me, and I am most grateful to them from the bottom of my heart.
In 2016, osteopathy has yet to be recognized as a State qualification in Japan, whereas acupuncture-moxa has been recognized for several decades. The Japan Osteopathic Professional Association, which I created ten years ago and is still under my direction has — thank God — been well received, and has thus become the most important association in terms of membership.
In addition, I am also qualified by the State to practice acupuncture-moxa. This is the reason why, before attending a Mechanical Link course and demonstration, I was deeply convinced that Japanese traditional acupuncture was more efficient than osteopathy in treating the nervous system. After having followed the courses of Paul Chauffour and Eric Prat and having been treated by them, it did not take me long to recognize that my profound belief and conviction were not necessarily relevant. At the time when I was treated, the Mechanical Link approach of nerves was still under development and was therefore not completely consolidated, but it yielded such important and immediate changes in condition that it was a stunning revelation.
The friendship of Paul Chauffour and Eric Prat as well as the other distinguished teachers of the Mechanical Link is a great honor and a true pleasure, and, for that, I wish to express my deep gratitude. I want the growth of the Mechanical Link to be continued and enhanced and the exchanges between Mechanical Link and our association to deepen. Among the different approaches of the Mechanical Link, the part that concerns the nerves is particularly interesting. I am sure that it will meet the expectations of a growing number of patients and will become a nucleus of the Mechanical Link.
I am also convinced that reading this book and acquiring its quintessence will result in the relief of the greatest number of suffering patients.
Finally, I once again hope that the Mechanical Link continues to grow in Japan and around the world.
Akiyoshi SHIMOMURA
President of the Japan Osteopathic Professional Association
President of the Japan Traditional Osteopathic College
