Julien Éclancher, osteopathy intern

A path shaped by sensitivity

I come from the arts, philosophy and mathematics. All three are ways of learning to observe before concluding, and that is what I find again in manual work: first look at what is happening, only then decide what to do about it.

What the arts taught me above all was sensitivity, that fine attention to what shifts before anyone can name it. Osteopathy let me reclaim it differently, through my hands. Everything else runs through that: what I perceive under my fingers is my main instrument, and it is what my interests follow.

That is also where my attention to what you tell me comes from: what you know about your own body is information I cannot get any other way.

My training and my title

I am completing my training at the Institut d’enseignement de l’ostéopathie du Québec. My current title is osteopathy intern (I.O.): the coursework and supervised clinical practice are done, the graduating thesis is being written.

I am a member of RITMA under number 11364, which binds me to its code of ethics and covers me with professional liability insurance. That number appears on my receipts and you can verify it with the association.

One detail with practical consequences: not every insurer reimburses receipts issued by an osteopathy intern. The fees and insurance page explains what to ask your insurer before you come.

Where the profession is going

On 25 March 2026 the Québec government announced that osteopathy would become the province’s 57th regulated profession. On 16 June it specified that osteopaths would be integrated into the Ordre des chiropraticiens du Québec rather than forming a separate order.

What that will change for me is not settled yet. The transition rules, the timeline and the fate of the osteopathy intern title are still to be determined by the work under way. Until then it is the RITMA code of ethics that governs my practice.

A thesis about fibromyalgia

My graduating work is about osteopathy and fibromyalgia. It is what points my practice towards people living with pain that has settled in: fibromyalgia, chronic conditions, the tension that comes with anxiety.

The work is in progress, and I draw no promise of results from it.

How I work

What you will see from the first session.

I ask a lot of questions. The reason you came usually has a history. A shoulder pain can come from a fall fifteen years ago, from a desk, from always sleeping on the same side, or from a stretch of time when you compensated without noticing. Looking for what keeps a problem going means knowing what came before it, and that is why a first visit opens with a thorough conversation. Your medication and your habits belong there for the same reason: they tell me what your body is handling right now. None of it is used to judge your choices, and if a question seems beside the point, ask me why I am asking it.

As gently as the problem allows. Not every technique is equally gentle, and some call for a firmer movement. I always favour the least demanding of those that can do the work, and I adjust to the problem and to what you tolerate. When touch already hurts, a forceful technique does more harm than good.

I tell you before I do it. You know what I am about to do, and why, before I do it. You can stop me at any point, without explaining why.

Pointing you elsewhere when that is what you need. I make no diagnosis, I do not replace your physician, and I will tell you plainly if I do not think I am the right person for your situation.

If you want to know where this approach comes from, what an osteopath is and is not in Québec, and what the research shows, I have written a page about that.