All osteopathy is structural, and you cannot work on one part of the body without affecting the rest of the body for obvious reasons, they are all interconnected. That being said, the body does have interconnected compartments on differing levels all of which affect each other. It is this interconnectedness and interrelationship of the parts and compartments of the body on many different levels is where Osteopathy has its focus and stands out as an effective approach to restoring health to the whole body. Many approaches to medicine particularly in the western world only address the area of the body producing pain or illness. It does not delve into the layers of the whole body asking the question why this structure got overwhelmed. This is largely crisis management medicine.

Some osteopaths keep their focus on the musculoskeletal systems of the body and work at that level. Others choose to expand their scope and include the interrelationship of the organs and the musculoskeletal system. Others go further again look at the structure and function of central nervous system and the other connecting systems of the body such as the cardiovascular, lymphatic, and fascial systems are how to treat them directly. Others go even further and look how the structures of the body were affected as it was developing over its lifetime and the impact of impeded or poor development and how to treat and change those developmental forces. And there is more.