Osteopathy is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes massage and other physical manipulation of muscle tissue and bones. Its name derives from Ancient Greek "bone" (ὀστέον) and "sensitive to" or "responding to" (-πάθεια). Furthermore, although there have been several studies and data meta-analyses according to different criteria, research on osteopathic treatment is unable to employ double-blind, placebo-controlled trials since researchers are unable to blind both the practitioner and the patient.