More and more patients are turning to osteopaths as an attractive alternative to conventional medicine. Critics point out the lack of studies backing up their claims, and the profession is not officially recognised everywhere. Yet researchers around the world are increasingly able to prove the positive effects of osteopathy. We travel to the USA, birthplace of osteopathy, as well as to Europe, and show what happens under the osteopath’s hands, where the manual healing method can help and where it has its limits.