6th Virtual International Student Day (VISD)
Online · Live only · No recordings
OsEAN is delighted to welcome students and teachers to the beginning of a new trilogy:
Each year, we will explore one aspect of this theme — starting in 2026 with Part 1: Body, followed by Mind and Spirit in the years ahead. This new journey invites us to reflect on the meaning of these elements in contemporary osteopathic education and practice, and how they continue to shape our understanding of health and healing.
Participation is free for students and teachers from OsEAN member schools. For external participants, the fee is €25.
As always, sessions will be live only, with no recordings available afterwards.
Whether you are taking your first steps in osteopathy or continuing to refine your understanding, this day offers space to learn and grow together.
Please join me in an adventure that waits for us inside our cells. During this short lecture, I am hoping to provide you with a glimpse of cellular research in the 2020s. Humans are multicellular organisms, which means that the cells in our tissues need to be able to work and communicate together in homeostasis. Cells have multiple ways to communicate with one another and their surroundings, but today we will focus on just one: mechanical force. What kind of forces will cells face in their unique bodily niches? How do cells react when different forces are applied to its cell membranes? This is what the fancy term ‘mechanotransduction’ really means. In other words, converting external mechanical force into cellular biochemical force leading to a change in cell behavior. However, communication between cells and the extracellular matrix is reciprocal - if it goes off balance, out of homeostasis, there will be consequences. Sounds very familiar (try to recall osteopathic principles), right?
If you wish to find out what really happens at the molecular level under your hand when you generate traction in tissues, please join VISD in February 2026. See you at the lecture and let’s find out together!
Beneath the anatomy we palpate lies an intelligent and responsive architecture: the extracellular matrix. This lecture explores the ECM as the hidden conductor of adaptation, inflammation, and intercellular communication — and reveals how osteopathic touch may influence this matrix across mechanical, biochemical, psycho-emotional, and even electromagnetic dimensions. Drawing on recent insights from systems biology, immunology, and fascia research, we will reframe the body not as a machine to be fixed, but as a dynamic matrix to be listened to… fluid, fractal, and alive.
There is mounting evidence that musculoskeletal pain conditions correlates with psychological factors such as chronic stress, depression and anxiety as well as lifestyle factors such as obesity, sleep disturbances and physical inactivity. What are the mechanisms behind these correlations and what does it mean for professionals dealing with this patient group?
While earlier sessions explore the inner workings of the patient — from cellular construction and matrix physics to homeostasis — this closing lecture turns the lens back on the clinician. Drawing on new evidence and the findings of Alexander et al., 2021, we will explore why palpation validity has remained elusive for decades and how factors such as fatigue, pain, emotional state, and metabolic imbalance within the clinician profoundly distort sensory accuracy. For the first time, we will reframe failed reliability not as a failure of technique, but as a reflection of the practitioner’s own physiological and interoceptive state — and discuss practical strategies to restore precision, presence, and trust in our hands.
VISD 2026 — Summary
At the 6th Virtual International Student Day (VISD), we welcomed students, educators, and practitioners from across Europe and beyond for a full day of live learning, dialogue, and shared reflection. With more than 300 participants joining us online, VISD 2026 opened a new three-part journey under the overarching theme “Revisiting Body, Mind and Spirit in the 21st Century.”
This first edition focused on Body and invited us to revisit foundational osteopathic concepts through the lens of contemporary science, clinical reasoning, and professional self-reflection.
We opened the day by welcoming participants and introducing VISD as a space created by and for students, while encouraging exchange with teachers and educators. We presented the new trilogy as an invitation to slow down and reflect on how osteopathy understands and works with the body today — not as an isolated concept, but as part of an evolving relationship between science, practice, and philosophy.
Throughout the day, we emphasised that VISD is not about providing final answers, but about fostering curiosity, questioning assumptions, and supporting learning at different stages of osteopathic education.
Dr. Anette Aalto began the scientific exploration of the day by taking us inside the body at a cellular level. Drawing on her background in cellular and molecular biology as well as osteopathic training, she introduced mechanotransduction — the process through which cells convert mechanical forces into biochemical signals.
She showed how cells respond to touch, movement, and mechanical stress, and how these processes relate to homeostasis, tissue adaptation, and gene expression. This lecture offered a biological perspective on concepts often discussed clinically and encouraged us to reflect on what may be happening beneath the hands during osteopathic treatment — and how these processes unfold over time rather than instantaneously.
Building on this microscopic view, Pascal De Dene expanded the discussion to tissues and systems by exploring the extracellular matrix (ECM) as a living, adaptive network. He invited us to move away from viewing the body as a collection of isolated structures and instead consider it as a dynamic matrix in which mechanical, biochemical, and relational processes constantly interact.
By bridging osteopathic philosophy with contemporary insights from systems biology and fascia research, the lecture encouraged reflection on how touch, movement, and perception influence health through complex, interconnected pathways. This perspective reinforced the idea of the body as a responsive, self-organising system rather than a machine to be fixed.
In the afternoon, David Josefsson shifted our focus toward clinical reasoning and patient care by addressing musculoskeletal pain as a multifactorial experience. Drawing on clinical experience and current evidence, he challenged purely mechanical explanations of pain and highlighted the influence of psychological and lifestyle factors such as stress, sleep, physical activity, and mental health.
This session encouraged us to move beyond reductionist models and engage with patients as whole persons. It reinforced the importance of integrating broader contextual factors into clinical reasoning while remaining grounded in hands-on practice.
We closed the lecture programme with Dr. Jo-Anne Abbott, who invited us to turn our attention inward, toward the clinician. Her lecture explored why palpation reliability and sensory accuracy remain challenging topics in manual healthcare and how factors such as fatigue, stress, emotional state, and physiological regulation within the practitioner can influence perception and decision-making.
Rather than framing these challenges as failures of technique, she encouraged us to recognise the practitioner’s own state as an integral part of osteopathic practice. This closing session resonated strongly with the overall theme of the day, reminding us that the “body” in osteopathy includes not only the patient, but also the clinician.
Throughout the day, we created space for questions, discussion, and exchange. Each lecture was followed by live Q&A sessions, allowing participants to engage directly with the speakers and with one another. We concluded VISD 2026 with an open discussion that brought together themes from across the programme and highlighted the diversity of perspectives present in the virtual room.
VISD 2026 marked the beginning of a longer conversation. We will continue this trilogy with Part 2: Mind at the next Virtual International Student Day on 5 February 2027. Together, these events aim to support students in developing a reflective, critical, and integrated understanding of osteopathy in the 21st century.
We thank all participants, speakers, and educators for their presence, engagement, and contributions throughout the day.
https://mailchi.mp/49c91b4a0da3/anette-aalto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW0lvOVKDxE
https://drjoabbott.com/hoda-a/
The purpose of this video is not to persuade students to be more hands-on, but rather to address and park many of the common questions around evidence, manual therapy, and measurement before the event.
Next VISD 2027
“Revisiting Body, Mind and Spirit in the 21st Century.
Part 2: The Mind, where Neuroscience meets Osteopathy”
