History of Osteopathy
In 1874, Andrew Taylor Still MD DO (1828-1917), a medical doctor living on the Missouri frontier, discovered the significance of living anatomy in health and disease. Dr. Still realized that optimal health is possible only when all of the tissues and cells of the body function together in harmonious motion. He reasoned that disease could have its origins in slight anatomical deviation from normal. He then proved he could restore health by treating the body with his hands, naming his innovative approach to restoring health: Osteopathy. He understood that the human body is composed of many parts, all intimately related as a functional whole. More than a hundred years ago, Dr. Still realized that the human being is more than just a physical body. He envisioned a totally new medical system that acknowledges the relationships of the body, mind, emotions and spirit.
At the age of ten, young Andrew Still suffered from frequent headaches with nausea. He constructed a rope swing between two trees, eight to ten inches off the ground. He lay down using the rope for a swinging pillow. He wrote, “I lay stretched on my back, with my neck across the rope. Soon I became easy and went to sleep, got up in a little while with headache all gone.” He continued to use this ‘treatment’ successfully every time he had a headache.
Many years later Dr. Still considered his ‘rope swing treatment’ of headaches, and realized ... “I had suspended the action of the great occipital nerves, and given harmony to the flow of the arterial blood to and through the veins...I have worked from the days of a child...to obtain a more thorough knowledge of the workings of the machinery of life, in producing ease and health.”
As a practicing physician Dr. Still diligently researched and developed osteopathy. He discovered that he had the ability to put his hands on patients, change their physiology and restore health. He developed a very practical way of treating people using just his hands. Today, osteopathic physicians continue to use their hands to treat their patients in this same tradition.
In the late 1800s none of today's miracle drugs, such as antibiotics, were available. Out of necessity, Dr. Still looked first to nature's own ability to heal and found a way to access this ability within the body. Still saw this self-correcting potential as a cornerstone of his osteopathic philosophy. When combined with appropriate use of present day medical therapeutics, osteopathy offers a profound contribution to the practice of medicine.
In 1874, Andrew Taylor Still MD DO (1828-1917), a medical doctor living on the Missouri frontier, discovered the significance of living anatomy in health and disease. Dr. Still realized that optimal health is possible only when all of the tissues and cells of the body function together in harmonious motion. He reasoned that disease could have its origins in slight anatomical deviation from normal. He then proved he could restore health by treating the body with his hands, naming his innovative approach to restoring health: Osteopathy. He understood that the human body is composed of many parts, all intimately related as a functional whole. More than a hundred years ago, Dr. Still realized that the human being is more than just a physical body. He envisioned a totally new medical system that acknowledges the relationships of the body, mind, emotions and spirit.
At the age of ten, young Andrew Still suffered from frequent headaches with nausea. He constructed a rope swing between two trees, eight to ten inches off the ground. He lay down using the rope for a swinging pillow. He wrote, “I lay stretched on my back, with my neck across the rope. Soon I became easy and went to sleep, got up in a little while with headache all gone.” He continued to use this ‘treatment’ successfully every time he had a headache.
Many years later Dr. Still considered his ‘rope swing treatment’ of headaches, and realized ... “I had suspended the action of the great occipital nerves, and given harmony to the flow of the arterial blood to and through the veins...I have worked from the days of a child...to obtain a more thorough knowledge of the workings of the machinery of life, in producing ease and health.”
As a practicing physician Dr. Still diligently researched and developed osteopathy. He discovered that he had the ability to put his hands on patients, change their physiology and restore health. He developed a very practical way of treating people using just his hands. Today, osteopathic physicians continue to use their hands to treat their patients in this same tradition.
In the late 1800s none of today's miracle drugs, such as antibiotics, were available. Out of necessity, Dr. Still looked first to nature's own ability to heal and found a way to access this ability within the body. Still saw this self-correcting potential as a cornerstone of his osteopathic philosophy. When combined with appropriate use of present day medical therapeutics, osteopathy offers a profound contribution to the practice of medicine.
Philosophy of Osteopathy
Where there is life, there is motion. Osteopathy appreciates the significance of even the smallest motion within all the tissues and cells of the body, and applies this understanding in it’s unique form of medical care. Simply put, when the body’s motion is in balance, a state of health exists. When this motion is disturbed, health is affected and a state of disease can arise. It is the osteopathic physician’s highly developed sense of touch that allows the physician to palpate (feel) this motion and, through skilled hands, to administer osteopathic manipulative treatments. These treatments can relieve disturbances of motion and enhance the vitality and function of the patient.
Although osteopathy employs the practice of manual medicine, it is not just a set of techniques. It is a philosophy and a science based on the application of sound principles. Initially conceived during the late nineteenth century by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathy, these principles have been consistently validated by scientific research.
The philosophy and science of osteopathy is based upon the following four principles:
1. Structure and Function are Interrelated
From the smallest cell to the largest bone, all of anatomy is alive and in constant dynamic, rhythmic motion. Blood flows lymphatics drain and cerebral spinal fluid fluctuates. The heart beats and the ribcage expands and contracts with each respiration. Each and every organ gently moves as it functions. Each and every structure has its own inherent rhythmic activity. This is the living anatomy that osteopathic physicians feel with their hands. When this motion becomes impaired, the tissues will not function as they were intended. As a result of this altered motion, symptoms develop, and disease may even occur.
Dr. Still described this process in the following way, “Disease is the result of anatomical abnormalities followed by physiologic discord.”
Dr. Still described the body as being like a machine. It has interrelated parts that need to be in proper position and to move correctly for optimal function. For example, taking a deep breath may be difficult if the ribs, diaphragm or parts of the spine do not move well. When breathing is impaired, lymphatic drainage (necessary for clearing congestion and inflammation) will also be impaired. This may lead to the development of asthma or respiratory infections.
A dramatic example of how well osteopathic physicians understand the importance of the structure and function relationship is the influenza epidemic of 1917-1918. Approximately 30,000,000 people died worldwide. In the U.S., osteopathic physicians treated their patients with osteopathic manipulation and were quite successful in decreasing mortality from the disease. In fact, while hospitals run by MD’s reported a 30 to 40 percent mortality rate, osteopathic hospitals reported a mortality rate of less than one percent.
2. The Body is a Single Dynamic Unit of Function
There are many unifying systems within the body. The circulatory system supplies blood to every tissue and organ. The nervous system connects and integrates all of the body’s functions. A third unifying system is comprised of a connective tissue matrix called fascia. The fascia is a continuous sheath of living tissue that connects the body front to back, head to toe. It surrounds every muscle, organ, nerve and blood vessel. A primary function of this fascial system is to support and lubricate. Thus, the circulatory system, the nervous system and the fascia all help to organize the body into a unified continuous
whole. No single part exists independent of the whole. When even a small part of the body does not function optimally, the entire person is affected.
Consider the circulatory system. Dr. Still stated, “The rule of artery and vein is universal in all living beings, and the osteopath must know that and abide by its rulings, or he will not succeed as a healer.”
Dr. Still used these words to describe the essential need for optimal fluid exchange. When blood and other fluids flow freely, the tissues can perform their physiologic functions without interference. When injury or disease occurs, the result can be a twisting or compression of all tissues, including the circulatory system. The blood and fluid flow becomes obstructed and areas of the body may become under- nourished and vulnerable. This effect may be a significant factor in causing disease. It is similar to trying to water a garden with a kinked hose. The water will not flow properly and the garden will not receive its proper nutrition.
Understanding this concept of functional unity allows osteopathic physicians to diagnose and treat their patients as a functional whole. This may explain why an osteopathic physician may treat an area that is fairly distant from the area of pain or injury.
3. The Body Possesses Self-Regulatory and Self-Healing Mechanisms
The human body is always working to maintain a state of balanced function. For example, blood pressure, blood sugar and the heart rate are actively kept within a normal range. When there is a laceration or tear in the tissues, a physician can assist by cleaning the wound and bringing the edges together, but healing occurs by the action of inherent forces and processes within the body.
Dr Still stated, “All the remedies necessary to health exist in the human body.” He understood that within the tissues, there is an inherent wisdom, a wise all-knowing restorative force, an intelligence within every cell that keeps the body well. When a state of discord arises, this healing force acts to restore functional balance and
harmony. Sometimes the body’s self-healing forces can be impaired or impeded by disease or structural imbalance. The osteopathic physician is trained to augment these intrinsic mechanisms to help the body to better and more quickly heal itself.
4. Rational Treatment is Based on Applying These Principles
Osteopathic treatment applies these principles with a sound and thorough knowledge of anatomy and physiology. An osteopathic medical approach to treatment typically integrates osteopathic manipulation to restore structural freedom in the tissues, enhance fluid flow throughout the body, and creates the optimal setting for healing to occur.
References:
1. Still A.T., Osteopathy Research and Practice, 1910, Kirksville, MO, Eastland Press, reprinted 1992 p 9
2. George W. Riley, Pd. B. D.O., "Osteopathic Success in the Treatment of Influenza and Pneumonia", New York City, Paper before the Chicago Session of the AOA July 1919, JAOA, August 1919
3. Still A.T., The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, Hudson-Kimberly Publication Co., Kansas City, Mo., 1902, p 58
4. Still A.T., Autobiography. Pulbished by the Author. Kirksville, Mo., 1897, p 43
Where there is life, there is motion. Osteopathy appreciates the significance of even the smallest motion within all the tissues and cells of the body, and applies this understanding in it’s unique form of medical care. Simply put, when the body’s motion is in balance, a state of health exists. When this motion is disturbed, health is affected and a state of disease can arise. It is the osteopathic physician’s highly developed sense of touch that allows the physician to palpate (feel) this motion and, through skilled hands, to administer osteopathic manipulative treatments. These treatments can relieve disturbances of motion and enhance the vitality and function of the patient.
Although osteopathy employs the practice of manual medicine, it is not just a set of techniques. It is a philosophy and a science based on the application of sound principles. Initially conceived during the late nineteenth century by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathy, these principles have been consistently validated by scientific research.
The philosophy and science of osteopathy is based upon the following four principles:
1. Structure and Function are Interrelated
From the smallest cell to the largest bone, all of anatomy is alive and in constant dynamic, rhythmic motion. Blood flows lymphatics drain and cerebral spinal fluid fluctuates. The heart beats and the ribcage expands and contracts with each respiration. Each and every organ gently moves as it functions. Each and every structure has its own inherent rhythmic activity. This is the living anatomy that osteopathic physicians feel with their hands. When this motion becomes impaired, the tissues will not function as they were intended. As a result of this altered motion, symptoms develop, and disease may even occur.
Dr. Still described this process in the following way, “Disease is the result of anatomical abnormalities followed by physiologic discord.”
Dr. Still described the body as being like a machine. It has interrelated parts that need to be in proper position and to move correctly for optimal function. For example, taking a deep breath may be difficult if the ribs, diaphragm or parts of the spine do not move well. When breathing is impaired, lymphatic drainage (necessary for clearing congestion and inflammation) will also be impaired. This may lead to the development of asthma or respiratory infections.
A dramatic example of how well osteopathic physicians understand the importance of the structure and function relationship is the influenza epidemic of 1917-1918. Approximately 30,000,000 people died worldwide. In the U.S., osteopathic physicians treated their patients with osteopathic manipulation and were quite successful in decreasing mortality from the disease. In fact, while hospitals run by MD’s reported a 30 to 40 percent mortality rate, osteopathic hospitals reported a mortality rate of less than one percent.
2. The Body is a Single Dynamic Unit of Function
There are many unifying systems within the body. The circulatory system supplies blood to every tissue and organ. The nervous system connects and integrates all of the body’s functions. A third unifying system is comprised of a connective tissue matrix called fascia. The fascia is a continuous sheath of living tissue that connects the body front to back, head to toe. It surrounds every muscle, organ, nerve and blood vessel. A primary function of this fascial system is to support and lubricate. Thus, the circulatory system, the nervous system and the fascia all help to organize the body into a unified continuous
whole. No single part exists independent of the whole. When even a small part of the body does not function optimally, the entire person is affected.
Consider the circulatory system. Dr. Still stated, “The rule of artery and vein is universal in all living beings, and the osteopath must know that and abide by its rulings, or he will not succeed as a healer.”
Dr. Still used these words to describe the essential need for optimal fluid exchange. When blood and other fluids flow freely, the tissues can perform their physiologic functions without interference. When injury or disease occurs, the result can be a twisting or compression of all tissues, including the circulatory system. The blood and fluid flow becomes obstructed and areas of the body may become under- nourished and vulnerable. This effect may be a significant factor in causing disease. It is similar to trying to water a garden with a kinked hose. The water will not flow properly and the garden will not receive its proper nutrition.
Understanding this concept of functional unity allows osteopathic physicians to diagnose and treat their patients as a functional whole. This may explain why an osteopathic physician may treat an area that is fairly distant from the area of pain or injury.
3. The Body Possesses Self-Regulatory and Self-Healing Mechanisms
The human body is always working to maintain a state of balanced function. For example, blood pressure, blood sugar and the heart rate are actively kept within a normal range. When there is a laceration or tear in the tissues, a physician can assist by cleaning the wound and bringing the edges together, but healing occurs by the action of inherent forces and processes within the body.
Dr Still stated, “All the remedies necessary to health exist in the human body.” He understood that within the tissues, there is an inherent wisdom, a wise all-knowing restorative force, an intelligence within every cell that keeps the body well. When a state of discord arises, this healing force acts to restore functional balance and
harmony. Sometimes the body’s self-healing forces can be impaired or impeded by disease or structural imbalance. The osteopathic physician is trained to augment these intrinsic mechanisms to help the body to better and more quickly heal itself.
4. Rational Treatment is Based on Applying These Principles
Osteopathic treatment applies these principles with a sound and thorough knowledge of anatomy and physiology. An osteopathic medical approach to treatment typically integrates osteopathic manipulation to restore structural freedom in the tissues, enhance fluid flow throughout the body, and creates the optimal setting for healing to occur.
References:
1. Still A.T., Osteopathy Research and Practice, 1910, Kirksville, MO, Eastland Press, reprinted 1992 p 9
2. George W. Riley, Pd. B. D.O., "Osteopathic Success in the Treatment of Influenza and Pneumonia", New York City, Paper before the Chicago Session of the AOA July 1919, JAOA, August 1919
3. Still A.T., The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy, Hudson-Kimberly Publication Co., Kansas City, Mo., 1902, p 58
4. Still A.T., Autobiography. Pulbished by the Author. Kirksville, Mo., 1897, p 43