Dr Andrew Taylor Still
An osteopath is a manual therapist who uses manipulative techniques such as massage, stretching, manipulation etc to restore someone’s body to health. The main conditions treated by an osteopath are back pain, neck pain, headaches, migraines, shoulder injuries, hip and pelvic pains, and knee/ankle/foot pains.
The word osteopath derives from the latin osteo, meaning bone, and pathos, meaning disease. When osteopathy was first founded by Dr Andrew Taylor Still in 1874 in Kansas, USA, he was dubbed a “lightning bone-setter”. Dr Still was a conventional medical doctor who became frustrated with his profession after his 3 children fell perilously ill to spinal meningitis. He made it his life’s work to study the anatomy of the body and work out a better way to fight disease. He founded the first osteopathic medical school in 1890 in Kirksville, Texas. Now, osteopathic medicine is taught and practiced around the world.
As explained in, what is osteopathy, osteopathy is based on four principles:
- The body is a unit
- The body is a self-regulating and self-healing organism
- Structure and function are inter-related
- By understanding that the body works together as a whole to self-regulate, an osteopath can assist the body to self-heal
For more information about osteopathy, contact Inlign Osteopathy.