Osteopathy

  Osteopathy is a controversial procedure. It was invented by Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., in 1874. He was an army doctor during the American Civil War. Frustrated by battlefield and infectious deaths he sought an alternative to medical procedures of the day and founded osteopathy.  

Apparently, Still claimed that a prophetic vision had told him that diphtheria, typhus and other fevers were caused by misalignments of the vertebrae. The word osteopathy was coined because the bone, osteon, was the starting point from which he was to ascertain the cause of pathological conditions.  

Still believed the human body was capable of curing itself without drugs or surgery, and through osteopathy the physician could remove any impediments to the healthy function of each person. He promoted healthy lifestyle and nutrition; and abstinence from alcohol and drugs.  

Still and his followers developed a complete medical school curriculum and founded the American School of Osteopathy for the teaching of osteopathic medicine in 1892.  

Still taught that "dis-ease" was caused when bones were out of place and disrupted the flow of blood or of nervous impulses; he taught that a physician could cure diseases by manipulating bones to restore the interrupted flow by osteopathy. Today, most osteopaths accept the role of germs in disease.  

During the 20^th Century osteopathy took different paths around the World. In the 1960s it became assimilated into American medicine mainstream with osteopaths being qualified doctors, and the reliance on manipulation as the main thrust of osteopathy has diminished there. Outside America osteopathy is mostly seen as an alternative treatment. In the UK, where osteopaths undertake four to five-year honours degree programmes, the General Osteopathic Council says: Osteopathy is a way of detecting and treating damaged parts of the body such as muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints.  

Modern osteopathy is therefore concerned with how the various parts of the body interact and align, but some osteopaths specialise in certain areas, some of which are very controversial.  

Cranial osteopathy involves holding a patient's head while feeling a very subtle, rhythmic pattern of movement or shape changes in the body. The skull is massaged to bring these rhythms back to normal.  

With visceral osteopathy the emphasis is on bringing the internal organs rather than the skeleton into a correct alignment.  

Osteopathy continues to be controversial, with apparently no scientific proof it works, but thousands of patients report improvements. Sceptics say that this is a placebo effect, and any untrained person giving massage can achieve the same results if the patient believes that they are getting the correct treatment.