Frequently asked questions

The Osteopathy Academy is a training centre in Baku that organises a 4-year osteopathy education based on the Osteopathie Schule Deutschland (OSD) programme. The lessons are taught by osteopaths invited from Germany and Türkiye. Lessons are held at ELF Center.

Teaching at the Academy follows the Osteopathie Schule Deutschland (OSD) curriculum: the lesson timetables are drawn up under the OSD name, and the lessons are taught by OSD teachers and osteopaths invited from Türkiye. According to the Academy, graduates are awarded an OSD diploma at the end of their studies. OSD is a German osteopathy school founded in Hamburg in 1999.

The Osteopathic College of Turkey (OCT) is listed on the official OSD website as OSD's cooperation partner for Türkiye. The Baku programme is run jointly with OCT. As stated in the timetables, OCT reserves the right to change lesson dates and teachers.

At ELF Center: Rəşid Behbudov küçəsi 112, Baku.

The first group began its studies on 6 December 2024. In the 2026–2027 academic year the first group is in year 3.

According to the OSD programme guide, the programme is open to physiotherapists, physicians and senior-year students of these disciplines. If your profession is not on this list, clarify the admission requirements with the Academy before registering.

Yes, if you are a senior-year student of medicine or physiotherapy. At registration you must submit a document confirming your student status.

First name and surname, professional or student certificate, e-mail address, telephone number, the academic year you wish to register for, your preferred payment plan and a university or OSD document. The documents are used only to verify that the application comes from a professional. They are deleted after verification.

The number of places is limited. The exact quota is announced at registration.

Payment plans are provided at registration. For further details, write to us.

Yes, up to 4 weeks before the start of the programme.

Once the programme fee has been accepted, it is not refunded. In official cases and in the event of system-related problems, your statutory rights are protected.

No. Coffee breaks (tea, coffee, water), however, are free of charge.

4 years. There are 10 modules per year, 40 modules in total.

Once a month, at the weekend. Modules taught by teachers from Türkiye usually last 2 days (Saturday–Sunday); modules taught by teachers from other countries last 3 days (Friday–Saturday–Sunday). Lessons are held at 09:00–13:00 and 14:00–18:00.

Yes. As the lessons are held once a month at the weekend, the programme is designed for working professionals.

Yes. The topic of each module is printed as a booklet and given to the students at the start of the module. In addition, video recordings of the topics covered in the lessons are posted in the module's closed Telegram group.

No. Video and audio recording by participants during lessons is prohibited. The Academy records the topics on video itself and shares them only with its students.

No. The booklets and videos are protected by copyright and are intended only for the Academy's students.

Attendance at all modules is compulsory in order to complete the programme. Missed modules are made up the following year in the same modules of the year below. Modules you do not attend are also charged for.

Yes. To resume your studies, there must be a free place in the class you will join, and you must accept that class's payment and other conditions.

Yes. In addition to the in-person modules, preparatory lessons and online lectures are held via Zoom. Free webinars are also organised for those interested.

In each module, after the theoretical explanation the teacher demonstrates the technique, and the students practise in pairs, on each other, under the teacher's supervision. Between modules the students consolidate what they have learned in practice.

An examination is held at the end of each academic year. Students who pass the examination progress to the next year. At the end of year 4 there is a final examination. The OSD sample final examination certificate shows the written, practical/oral and differential diagnosis parts of the examination.

Comfortable, tracksuit-style clothing. Bring shorts for the lumbar and lower limb topics, and a hair tie if you have long hair.

According to the sample documents, graduates of the OSD programme receive a diploma, a final examination certificate and a transcript of subjects. Further details are on the Diploma and certificate page.

Each country determines the right to practise osteopathy professionally under its own legislation. In some countries osteopaths must be entered in a state register, while in others osteopathy is not regulated as a separate profession. The recognition of any diploma in another country therefore depends on that country's requirements.

In Azerbaijan, the legal status of osteopathy as a separate specialty has not yet been defined. The work of specialists who have trained in osteopathy abroad is therefore assessed within the framework of their existing medical specialties, the rules for admission to professional practice and the relevant licence. If osteopathy is recognised as a separate specialty in the future, separate requirements may also be set for it.

In Azerbaijan, medical practice requires appropriate medical education, attestation and a licence. Graduates should apply their osteopathic knowledge and skills within the scope of their primary profession — physician, physiotherapist, etc. — and their licence.

In Europe, D.O. is a diploma awarded by an osteopathy school. It is not an academic degree and does not confer the title of “doctor”. The “Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine” (D.O.) degree in the USA, by contrast, is a full physician's degree and is not the same as the European D.O.

Physiotherapy is based mainly on restoring movement and function, therapeutic exercise and physical agents. Osteopathy, on the other hand, is an approach that views the body as a single system and relies mainly on manual assessment and treatment techniques. The two fields are not mutually exclusive: osteopathy is often studied as an additional qualification by physiotherapists and physicians.

The effectiveness of osteopathic treatment has been studied most for musculoskeletal pain such as low back and neck pain. In these areas a small to moderate benefit has been shown, but in studies comparing it with sham treatment the difference has often been small. For cranial and visceral osteopathy, many conditions in children and diseases of the internal organs, the evidence is insufficient. More: Scientific evidence.

When applied by a trained practitioner with contraindications taken into account, osteopathic treatment is usually safe. Mild reactions such as transient pain and tiredness are common after treatment. Serious complications are rare but possible, particularly after manipulation of the cervical region. A medical diagnosis and screening for red flags before treatment are therefore important.

For example, in cases of acute trauma and fractures, cerebral haemorrhage, acute abdominal pain, bleeding disorders, tumours, bone infection and disc herniation with worsening neurological signs. The full list is in the Safety section, which is based on the WHO document.

Systematic reviews of these approaches show that manual diagnosis is not reliable and that there is no strong evidence of effectiveness. These topics are taught at the Academy, but their level of evidence is also discussed openly.

Yes. Those interested in the new group can attend one free trial lesson in one of the modules currently under way.

An open event held to get to know the Academy, its teaching system and the basic principles of osteopathy, and to put questions to teachers and students. Dates are announced on our Instagram page.

This is the Academy's newly opened group. Registration is already open. The first lesson will be held on 12–13 December 2026; the topics, dates and teachers of the lessons are shown in the lesson timetable. Admission requirements will be announced once the group has been formed.