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Andrew Still's Osteopathic Paper

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The son of a doctor and a pastor, Andrew Still (1828-1917) believed that the human being was the perfect being, of divine origin. This belief went on to be a key component for the basis of his research in the establishment of osteopathy. Dr. Still believed that the medical treatments and practices available to him at the time were highly unorthodox, ineffective and that they had the potential to be harmful. In 1864 shortly after the conclusion of the civil war, Still lost his 3 children due to spinal meningitis and it was this incident that further fortified Still to seek an alternative way of treatment. Dr. Still went on to spend the next 10 years of his life analysing and examining the human body exploring alternate ways to treat pain and disease. In addition to Still theorising his own …show more content…

Still’s research and analysis led him to the conclusion that the muskoskeletal system played a vital role in one’s individual health, moreover that a properly aligned muskoskeletal system was the explanation for good health. With this information Still had realised the relationship between structure and function and he theorised that the disease process arises when the flow of life is interrupted (Still, 1908). Thereafter Still formulated a hands-on approach to treatment; now commonly known as osteopathic manual therapy (OMM). This non-invasive treatment method was believed by Still to cure disease, treat pain and re-establish flow within the body. Rather than just focusing on the manifestations of injury or illness in a patient, Still would instead seek to explore and understand the cause. “You wonder what Osteopathy is; you look in the medical dictionary and find as its definition "bone disease." That is a grave mistake. It is compounded of two words, osteon, meaning bone, pathos, pathine, to suffer. Greek lexicographers say it is a proper name for a science founded on a knowledge of bones. So instead of "bone disease" it really means "usage." (Still, 1987,

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