1. The person is a unit made of the body, mind
and spirit.
2. The body is designed to be self-healing, self-
regulating and self-maintaining.
3. Structure and function are inter-related.
4. Rational treatment is based on understanding the body unity, self-regulation, and the inter-
relationship of structure and function.
Osteopathic medicine dates back to 1874 when Dr. A.T. Still MD left allopathic medicine and established his practice in the town of Kirksville Missouri. He had been an apprenticed MD and had served as a Union soldier and medic in the war against slavery. He had previously practiced traditional medicine, but lost faith in it after seing the mercury drugs, narcotics, alcohol and blood letting cause more disease than the original illness. He lost three of his own children to meningitis and this pushed him toward seeking a systematic method for treating illness and working with the body's natural systems of healing and health. He worked closely with Native Americans and with their help he learned how disease and musculoskeletal dysfunctions were inter-related. In 1892 he opened the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville and his first class included 5 women (a first for women's equality). His treatment and education were highly successful and sought after. His philosophy and skills created huge successes that were reproducible by his students and graduates. Osteopathy grew quickly and spread throughout the nation and then the world. Today DO's are Fully licensed physicians in the United states and have full privileges in all 50 states. DO's are also fully commissioned by the Military. Today as Osteopathic doctors increasingly practice the same as MD's in the US, world-wide their unique approach to health and disease is under great demand. Schools are opening around the world to keep the mission alive just as A.T. Still predicted nearly 140 years ago.
There are many types of Osteopathic treatment. Below are listed some of the more common and well known forms of treatment.