Psoriasis and osteopathy

Can Osteopathy Help With Psoriasis?

When the skin is only the visible part of something that starts deeper inside.

If you've lived with psoriasis for years, you've probably tried creams, corticosteroids and maybe stronger treatments, and the flare-ups keep coming back. This article explains what research says about what lies beneath the skin, how I read it from the perspective of visceral osteopathy, and what I can and can't offer you.

Psoriasis isn't just a skin problem

It's a chronic inflammatory disease in which the immune system abnormally speeds up the renewal of the skin. It is systemic: it doesn't stay on the surface, and in some people it comes with psoriatic arthritis. That's why creams ease the plaque but rarely change what feeds it.

What we know: the gut and the lungs matter too

Two lines of research point inward:

• The gut. In a 2021 study in the Journal of Inflammation Research, with about 114 patients, those with an altered intestinal barrier had more digestive symptoms, more inflammation in the blood and more severe psoriasis than those whose barrier was normal. The authors themselves stress that it's an observational study and that it is not known whether the increased permeability is a cause or a consequence (Sikora et al., 2021).
• The lungs. In a 2023 analysis of UK Biobank data (Journal of International Medical Research) covering almost 473,000 people, those with psoriasis had poorer lung function and more associated respiratory conditions. The authors talk about a possible "skin-lung axis" (Tanimura et al., 2023).

None of this proves that one thing causes the other, but it does show that psoriasis, the gut and the lungs are connected and can influence each other.

Where visceral osteopathy can contribute

The body has to eliminate its waste, and it has several routes to do so. The gut, the lungs and the skin are three of them, and they work as a chain: when one fails, the others are forced to take on its load.

My working hypothesis rests on physiological logic and on my clinical experience: sometimes the mechanics of the lung can be affected by an excess of work, because of metabolic waste coming from the gut that couldn't be eliminated through the usual digestive routes. The key is to understand that mechanics determines function. If the lung doesn't properly fulfil its excretory function, the skin is forced to carry that surplus of waste, which ends up overloading and inflaming it. From the point of view of visceral osteopathy, psoriasis would be, in part, what the skin reflects when the rest of the system can no longer keep up.

That's why, in the clinic, I work to restore the mechanics of the lung by releasing:

• the diaphragm,
• the first rib,
• the vertebro-pleural ligaments and the ribs.

The idea is that the lung recovers its ability to move and, as a result, its ability to eliminate, so that the whole system, skin included, has less load to carry.

Of course, it's also important to investigate, with a gastroenterologist, what is causing the intestinal permeability in the first place.

What I can promise, and what I can't

I can't promise that your psoriasis will disappear, and I'd be wary of anyone who does. What I can tell you is that I work on a part of the problem that neither creams nor drugs reach, and that, in my experience, some people notice fewer flare-ups or less intense ones when the body recovers those routes. Every case responds differently, and a condition of many years doesn't change in three visits.

What I do is a complement: don't stop or change your treatment without talking to your dermatologist or rheumatologist.

Tell me your story

You can message me on WhatsApp. A few lines are enough:

• How long you've had psoriasis
• Where it shows up
• What treatments you've tried
• Whether you also have digestive, respiratory or joint symptoms

With that, I'll tell you straight whether I think it makes sense for us to assess your case.

Sources

Sikora M, Stec A, Chrabaszcz M, et al. Clinical Implications of Intestinal Barrier Damage in Psoriasis. Journal of Inflammation Research. 2021;14:237–243. DOI: 10.2147/JIR.S292544

Tanimura K, Nouraie SM, Chandra D, Nyunoya T. Pulmonary comorbidities in psoriasis are associated with a high risk of respiratory failure. Journal of International Medical Research. 2023. PubMed 37340719