History of Osteopathy

Photo of Dr Andrew Still sitting in front of a wheel_Kew Osteopathic Clinic
Osteopathy is a way of examining and treating people based on principles which were developed by Dr Andrew Taylor Still. Dr Still was an American physician who practised in the mid-west during the late 19th century, including several years as a civil war surgeon. The trauma he encountered at this time was compounded with the loss of most of his children to infection. It was while in this state of despair that Osteopathy 'came' to him. He began practising Osteopathy in 1874 in Kansas and soon earned a reputation for healing people with many types of ailments. People travelled far and wide to be seen by the 'old doctor'. With such a demand for his services he decided to train others to look at the body the way he did and apply the same principles to treatment. He founded the American School of Osteopathy (now A.T. Still University) in Kirksville, Missouri on May 10 1892. The state of Missouri in recognising the curriculum was willing to grant him a charter for awarding an M.D. degree. However he was dissatisfied with the limitations of conventional medicine, and instead chose to retain the distinction of the D.O. degree, which is still awarded today.

Osteopathy quickly spread to Britain and its colonies, and is particularly popular in Australia and New Zealand.