History of osteopathy
Osteopathy was founded by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still
in 1874. Dr. Still was years ahead of his time when
he identified the significant relationships between
structure and function in the human body. He
recognized the importance of sufficient arterial and
venous blood flow, lymphatic and neurotrophic
flow and their relationship to the patient’s overall
health. He began to develop a form of manual
medicine which is currently practiced worldwide.
Osteopathy is a philosophy as well as a science. It
is a holistic form of hands-on medicine, which
recognizes that the Spirit, Soul and Soma are a whole. Osteopathy is
about supporting the health of the patient, and not sacrificing the whole
to treat a part. As a very spiritual man and divergent thinker, who
overcame several life challenges, Dr. Still always lived very close to
nature and he taught that Osteopathy is the expression of the natural
world. It is said that Osteopathy was alive well before Dr. Still put it into a
format. Our goal as Osteopathic Practitioners is to learn about the
natural laws using our perceptual skills which we develop in our training
and daily practice.
The History of Osteopathy - How It Started
Dr. Still began his study of medicine in the 1850s under the tutelage of
his father, who was both a physician and Methodist missionary. In 1855,
Major James Burnett Abbott, a close friend of Still’s, confided in him that
he had lost faith in present day medicine. He went on to say that he was
convinced it was all wrong, and that the system of drugs as curative
agents would someday be overturned, and some other system of curing
illness without drugs would have its place in healing the sick. From that
moment on Dr. Still was propelled to discover and develop a new system
of medicine. Dr. Still continued practicing as a medical doctor but he
excitedly explored bone setting and magnetic healing.
But, in the spring of 1864, Dr. Still’s family was devastated by spinal
meningitis. He stood looking upon three members of his family – two of
his own children and one adopted child – all dead from spinal meningitis,
and he seriously questioned medicine and God. In the end, he decided
that God was not a guessing God but a God of truth. He believed that
the body of man was God’s drugstore and had in it the wisdom that God
thought necessary for human happiness and health.
Still continued his study of anatomy and confirmed that it revealed
masterful handywork. He examined every bone in great detail, using
cadavers from an epidemic of cholera. It was said that he was not seen
without a bone in hand or in pocket. He correlated his in depth
knowledge of anatomy with his observations of nature and reflections on
creation.
The History of Osteopathy - Dr. Still's Epiphany
And so Osteopathy was discovered in Baldwin, Kansas, on June 22,
1874, when Dr. Still had an epiphany. He had a prophetic vision where
he was shot as he describes it “not in the heart, but in the dome of
reason.” In an instant, like a burst of sunshine, the whole truth dawned
upon his mind. Still called the discipline Osteopathy because you begin
with bones. Osteo is Greek / Latin for bone and the bones were his
starting point. (Interestingly enough, and not to his knowledge at the
time, the osseous system is the first system to appear in the embryonic
plate.)
The History of Osteopathy - An Uphill Battle
Dr. Still was eager to present his new idea and method of treatment to
the medical community. He chose Baker University as the place to
present his new ideas, a school which the Still family had helped found.
However, the university refused him, and so did the community.
In 1874, Dr. Still was publicly removed from the Methodist Church in
Baldwin because of the “laying of the hands.” He was accused of trying
to emulate Jesus, was labeled an agent of the devil and condemned as
practicing voodoo medicine. Socially and professionally ostracized and
penniless, he and his family were forced to move to Macon, Missouri, in
1875. It was here that Dr. Still preformed the first recorded Osteopathic
treatment on a four-year-old boy with bloody flux (hemorrhagic
gastroenteritis).
Determined he was on the right path with Osteopathy, Dr. Still and his
family settled in Kirksville, Missouri, and he began practicing what he
developed. His reputation eventually spread, and soon enough people
from all across the US were traveling to Kirksville to be treated by Dr.
Still. As his reputation increased, so did the attacks by his former
medical colleagues and some family members. Still was labeled a
quack, a faker and a man who had lost all reason. He was outcast by
many, but not all. There were an increasing number of doctors and
residents who were drawn to Still and his newly found treatment
modality.
In 1892, the first formal classes in the teachings of Osteopathy began in
Kirksville, Missouri, which later became the American School of
Osteopathy.
The History of Osteopathy - Advance In Practice
In the year 1900, as the science continued to establish itself, a student
named William Garner Sutherland had a flash of insight. He wondered if
the bones of the skull moved like the gills of a fish. He turned to question
Dr. Still and it is said the old doctor advised him to think of the fluids. And
so through dedicated study, observation and self-experimentation over a
period of 40 years the concept of Cranial Osteopathy came to fruition.
As said by Dr. Sutherland himself, “I had to perform many serious
experiments on my own cranium because of my skepticism about the
mobility of the cranial bones. I could not perform these experiments upon
the heads of other people. However, I did need to perform them on a
living head because it was necessary to have the knowledge that is
unobtainable from the study of a dead specimen in an anatomical
laboratory. Had I tried them on another person I would only have had the
information; they would have the knowledge.”
He then spent the last 15 years of his life teaching others the cranial
concept and he never failed to emphasize that the cranial concept was
only an extension of Dr. Still’s science of Osteopathy.
The Practice of Osteopathy Today
Today, Osteopathic Practitioners live what Dr. Still taught. Osteopathy
has always been an oral tradition and its rich history accentuates our
philosophy and our core principles. Its teachings and the hands-on skill
and treatments are taught and handed down directly from teacher to
student. This is how Osteopathy has been taught since its conception,
and still continues to this day. It cannot be learned through a textbook or
observation. It must be experienced.
As our scientific understanding advances 150 years later, many of Dr.
Still’s insights are finally being credited today.
