Osteopathy

Osteopathy is the body of knowledge and practices of osteopaths, a school of physicians in the United States founded by Dr. Andrew T. Still in the 19th Century. "Still was trained in orthodox medicine before the Civil War. He spent most of his training in an apprenticeship under a local doctor with didactic work for an unknown period of time in Kansas City" (reference for quote:Burke, Martin C. The DOs: Osteopathic Medicine in America (review) Perspectives in Biology and Medicine - Volume 48, Number 4, Autumn 2005, pp. 618-621 ). He was devastated by the loss of three of his children from meningitis and derived a new system of medicine based on spinal manipulation, Christian faith, and abstinance from alcohol.

Osteopathy was founded on the American frontier and its initial development was regionally focused in the West.

Osteopathy in the 20th Century

The Flexner Report- 1910

Abraham Flexner was an open admirer of the European (particlularly German) system of higher education and an open sceptic of any medical practices that were not based on science.

The American Osteopathic Association urged adoption of the standards that Flexner proposed in Schools of Osteopathy.

Holistic philosophy of medical practice

It has been argued that the use of spinal manipulation may play a key role in the training of DOs as holistic physicians,"the true value of spinal manipulation far exceeds its diagnostic and therapeutic value; these techniques have helped define a holistic bedside manner that is impossible to teach didactically."(reference for quote:Burke, Martin C. The DOs: Osteopathic Medicine in America (review) Perspectives in Biology and Medicine - Volume 48, Number 4, Autumn 2005, pp. 618-621)