History Of Osteopathy Medicine.

Dr. Still saw his work as a reformation of medicine, surgery, and midwifery (obstetrics) and as an expansion of the traditional medical–surgical model . It was never his intention to start a new profession. He believed that over time logical, rational men and women would accept his contributions for the overall betterment of society.

Instead he was hounded by the medical community, driven out of Kansas where he practiced, and ended up in Kirksville, Missouri. In 1892 in Kirksville, he founded the first school of osteopathy, the American School of Osteopathy. This school, which was empowered by the state to award the MD degree, instead issued a new degree, the doctor of osteopathy (DO), which distinguished its graduates from the medical profession and insured professional and legal autonomy. A major emphasis in the osteopathic curriculum was a mastery of the basic sciences, especially anatomy (which he called the alpha and omega of osteopathy), as well as applied physiology. Dr. Still also emphasized the mastery of osteopathic philosophy, which he believed was his major contribution to the discipline.

Specific manipulative technique was not initially taught. Dr. Still believed that, based on a thorough background in applied basic science, a well-supported diagnosis, and reasonable skill, any osteopathic physician could devise a treatment for any specific condition. However, within a few years, technique, as osteopathic treatment was termed, became an established part of the nascent curriculum. Dr. Still saw osteopathy and medicine as diametrically opposed and loudly denounced attempts to integrate the two approaches. Traditional osteopathy continued to grow (by the time of Dr. Still's death in 1917, there were 5000 DOs). But by the 1940s, when early antibiotics were introduced, the previously drugless profession of osteopathy began to embrace pharmacology and a symptom-oriented medical model.

Although there has always been a small, active minority embracing and attempting to implement classical osteopathic approaches, the majority of osteopathic graduates and the professional osteopathic colleges have adopted the allopathic model with little training in traditional osteopathic principles. However, within the last few years the trend has begun to reverse; more and more younger osteopaths show interest in Dr. Still's original teachings and observations. For example, the Undergraduate American Academy of Osteopathy, which was almost moribund in the early 1980s, is quite vibrant today. Most of these practitioners participate in the American Academy of Osteopathy and its subsections, such as the Cranial Academy.

Over the years, entirely new territories have been developed in the art and science of osteopathy. Some examples are the cranial concept; the embryological approach (best exemplified by the work of James Jealous, DO, of the New England College of Osteopathic Medicine); the use of the percussion hammer (as exemplified by the teachings of Robert Fulford, DO, for over 15 years); and fluid- and energetic-based approaches to osteopathy.