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osteopathy

Osteopathy is a medical practice based on the theory that diseases are due chiefly to loss of structural integrity which can be restored to harmony or equilibrium by manipulation. The manipulation allegedly allows the body to heal itself. Osteopaths use manipulation for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917), a Civil War surgeon in the Union army, is credited with discovering osteopathy as an alternative to the medical practices common in his day, practices which failed to save his three children from spinal meningitis. Still became convinced that he could cure diseases by shaking the body or manipulating the spine. In his autobiography, he says he could "shake a child and stop scarlet fever, croup, diphtheria, and cure whooping cough in three days by a wring of its neck" (Barrett). He also advocated clean living, including abstinence from alcohol and medically prescribed drugs. Surgery was to be avoided, if possible. Today, D.O.s (doctors of osteopathy) complement manipulation with standard medical methods of diagnosis and treatment, including recommending drug therapy and surgery if appropriate. D.O.s have four years of medical training at a college of osteopathic medicine and do a one-year internship in primary care. Some continue their education in an area of osteopathic specialization. Nevertheless, there has not been scientific validation of Still's theory of shaking and manipulating to remove obstructions.

See also chiropractic and craniosacral therapy.

further reading

• Dubious Aspects of Osteopathy by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
• The Paradox of Osteopathy
• American Osteopathic Association

"The Paradox Of Osteopathy," New England Journal of Medicine. Volume 341:1465-1468 November 4, 1999 Number 19

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