Structural techniques are the better known and most common part of osteopathy. They are the first and main techniques that osteopaths learn at school. Hence, A very large majority of Osteopathic physicians favor this approach at the expense of more sophisticated techniques.

This term is quite often wrongly used to define osteopathy itself. That is the main reason why people confuse osteopathy with chiropractics and physiotherapy. Indeed, Structural Osteopathy similarly focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of dysfunctions of the musculoskeletal system.

As such, it will commonly "make your body crack" (as a chiropractor does) and go through several body mobilizations (like physiotherapists do).