Osteopathic Medicine 1892 – Manipulative Treatment

Osteopathy is a healthcare field that emphasizes the role of the musculoskeletal system in preventing and treating health problems. 

After the Civil War, army surgeon Andrew Taylor Still lost several of his children to infectious diseases. He subsequently founded the first school of osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri, in 1892. 

According to Still's philosophy, most illnesses resulted from obstructions to nerves and blood flow. "By manipulating unbalanced, displaced bones, nerves, and muscles—in other words, by removing all obstructions—the body's mechanism of life could be set in motion and the person could regain health." 

In his autobiography, Still suggested that he could stop scarlet fever or diphtheria by shaking a child. He also claimed that he could cure a coughing fit in three days by twisting a person's neck. Although such claims seem exaggerated by today's standards, his methods could be considered more successful than conventional medicine because more of his patients survived than those of other doctors. Surgery and medicines of the time were often harmful, so many people questioned the effectiveness of common treatments containing toxic amounts of substances such as arsenic and mercury.

Today, in the United States, an American-trained D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) receives training similar to that of a conventional medical doctor. A D.O. is also essentially the legal equivalent of a medical doctor (MD). However, Europe and the Commonwealth do not recognize osteopaths as physicians.

A modern osteopath in the United States uses conventional medical approaches and medications as well as diet, posture, and therapeutic treatments in their practice. However, there is considerable debate today about the exaggerated claims made for cranial osteopathy in relieving pain or treating other illnesses. Cranial osteopathy involves manipulation of the bones of the skull and is used by very few osteopaths.

Historical Figures Mentioned in This Article: Andrew Taylor Still (1828–1917)

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