Osteopathy Australia Conference 2026

Two-day program

Day 1

Friday 16 October 2026

7:30am Registration 

8:30am Welcome to Country and President's address

8:50am Dr Jorge Aranda - Keynote address, The regulated child - Hands with Heart Foundation

9:20am Elizabeth Howard - Applying contemporary pain science to the osteopathic management of nerve pain

10:00am Amanda Sayan, Amie Steel, Jack Feehan and Nicholas Tripodi - facilitated panel - Building confidence, credibility and better care (facilitator to be announced)

 

10:45 Morning tea

11:15am Sarah Dryburgh - A modern understanding of pain in endometriosis

11:45am Tim McNamara - Worried about what happens if someone makes a complaint about you?

11:55am Julie Hjorth - Cost-effectiveness model of osteopathic manipulative treatment of perinatal back pain

12:05pm Amy Lawton - Professional and consumer perspectives on allied health & osteopathy in falls prevention

12:15pm Michael Fleischmann - Patient-centred osteopathic management of non-specific neck pain: A mixed-methods case series

12:25pm Kaspara Chaise - What does treating migraine osteopathically mean in practice? A qualitative model

12:35pm Lunch

1:35pm Paul Hermann - Understanding multifidus dysfunction and its role in mechanical back pain

1. The evidence behind the diagnosis of Lumbar Multifidus Dysfunction (LMD) 
2. Where LMD fits as a possible piece in the very complex jigsaw that is helping people suffering mechanical low back pain
3. Learn the tests to identify LMD
4. Learn the exercises and stages of exercise rehabilitation that can help
   
   

1:35pm Zac Lewis - Concussion science in practice: Live clinical assessment and decision-making

1. Apply a structured cervico-vestibular and vestibulo-ocular assessment battery to differentiate concussion subtypes in clinical
   practice
2. Identify the primary dysfunction domain (cervicogenic, vestibular, oculomotor, cognitive-affective, or mixed) driving a patient's
   presentation
3. Determine appropriate disposition: ongoing osteopathic management, co-management, or urgent referral to
   neurology/GP/emergency
4. Integrate assessment findings directly into graded rehabilitation progressions and return-to-sport/work staging
5. Construct a patient-specific clinical decision pathway applicable to sport, workplace, and general practice settings

3:05pm Afternoon tea

3:35pm Paul Hermann - Understanding multifidus dysfunction and its role in mechanical back pain

1. The evidence behind the diagnosis of Lumbar Multifidus Dysfunction (LMD) 
2.  Where LMD fits as a possible piece in the very complex jigsaw that is helping people suffering mechanical low back pain
3. Learn the tests to identify LMD
4. Learn the exercises and stages of exercise rehabilitation that can help
   
   

3:35pm Zac Lewis - Concussion science in practice: Live clinical assessment and decision-making

1. Apply a structured cervico-vestibular and vestibulo-ocular assessment battery to differentiate concussion subtypes in clinical
   practice.
2. Identify the primary dysfunction domain (cervicogenic, vestibular, oculomotor, cognitive-affective, or mixed) driving a patient's presentation.
3. Determine appropriate disposition: ongoing osteopathic management, co-management, or urgent referral to neurology/GP/emergency.
4. Integrate assessment findings directly into graded rehabilitation progressions and return-to-sport/work staging.
5. Construct a patient-specific clinical decision pathway applicable to sport, workplace, and general practice settings

5:00pm Day 1 close

5:30pm Osteopathy Australia AGM

6:30pm to 8:30pm Welcome reception 

Day 2

Saturday 17 October 2026

8:30am Tina Maio - Treating complex MSK pain with Shockwave therapy 

1. Identify dominant pain drivers, including tissue overload and neurogenic sensitisation to guide targeted ESWT application
2. Understanding the physical characteristics, depth profiles, and mechanotransductive effects of radial and focused shockwaves, and their respective clinical indications
3. Recognising predictors of favourable response, managing suboptimal outcomes, and integrating ESWT within a broader osteopathic treatment plan

8:30am Holly Royal - Essentials of patient-led planning: Short, medium, and long-term osteopathic management

1. Develop a framework that can be applied immediately for patient planning
2. Create a protocol for developing patient mutually agreed goals
3. Work through a structured care plan to help with engaging patients 

9:40am Luke McCarney - Clinical introduction to myotonometry: An objective method to evaluate muscle stiffness 

1. Practical use of and application of myotonometers
2. Understand how devices, such as a myotonometers could be used clinically
3. Assess the stiffness of different muscle groups

9:40am Amy Lawton - Ageing well, a framework for osteopathic practice 

1. Explore common presentations, including osteosarcopenia, frailty, and falls risk
2. Trial validated screening tools, practise targeted physical assessments
3. Work through active management strategies that can be applied immediately in practice

10:45am Morning tea

11:15am Julie Fendall - Osteopathic management of paediatric hip conditions from infancy to adolescence

1. Promote effective treatment in paediatric hip presentations
2. Practical examination techniques
3. Identify, assess and manage hip conditions encountered in paediatric practice

11:15am Nick Penney - Transforming low back pain care: Evidence-based digital solutions for practice growth

1. Understand how to deliver guideline-concordant digital care that builds patient independence
2. Identify and apply clear digital measurable msk related outcomes 
3. Learn how to manage and implement digital evidence into practice advantage

12:15pm Lunch

1:15pm Amanda Sayan, Research & Grants Project Officer Osteopathy Australia

 1:25pm Angela Young - Building a data-informed osteopathic profession: A national PROMs pilot in NZ

 1:35pm Nicholas Tripodi - Contextual effects in osteopathy: From theory to implementation

 1:45pm Roger Engel - Hospital-based clinical research: The Australian osteopathic experience

 1:55pm Kylie Spencer - Belonging:  How personality and motivation shape first-year learning choices

2:05pm Max Hopes - Lived experiences of lower limb tendinopathy: A two-part qualitative investigation.

 2:35pm Andrea Robertson - Inflammation, hormones & midlife, the osteopath’s role in perimenopause and menopause care.

 3:05pm Toby Barker - What can complex patients teach us about simple management? 

3:35pm Afternoon tea

4:00pm Christie Boucher, Risk Services Manager Guild Insurance

 4:20pm Osteopathy Australia Policy update

 4:50pm Prize draw winners and closing remarks

 5:00pm Conference close

Program times, dates and speakers are subject to change without notice at the organiser's discretion.