Assessment and treatment of the five diaphragms fit into the respiratory-circulatory model of osteopathic medicine (OM). Body diaphragms are conventionally considered to be those anatomical structures that occupy a horizontal space. In reality, considering the three-dimensionality of the human body, it is preferable to consider them as areas in close anatomical continuity, able to influence each other: tentorium cerebelli, tongue, thoracic outlet, diaphragm, and pelvic floor. This activity reviews the anatomical connections of these body areas, how they are evaluated, and how they should be manually treated, with a view to possible clinical pictures.

The osteopath's goal is to create space between the different anatomical structures (it is not possible to reshape the same structures manually), as space encloses the possibility of movement. To paraphrase Leonardo da Vinci; space is life.