The origin of osteopathy

Manipulative treatments and the holistic approach have been used since ancient times. In Thailand 4000 year old sculptures show manipulations. Physicians of ancient Greece and Egypt used manipulative treatment. Later manipulations were practiced by bonesetters but a systematic scientific approach did not exist.

Then 2 systems appeared in the USA almost at the same time at the end of last century: Osteopathy (founded by A.T.Still) and Chiropractic (founded by D.D.Palmer).

Osteopathy was founded by A.Still as an alternative to the conventional medicine of that time. According to his autobiography, after a few years of practising medicine and after losing three of his children from meningitis, he was disappointed in the medical system and tried to create an alternative, more effective and natural system. At the same time he reckoned that osteopathy should follow and take on board new medical achievements and should be up-to date with contemporary science.

A.Still's contribution was in creating basic principles of osteopathic theory and practice and in founding an osteopathic school: meanwhile descriptions and the development of techniques themselves were done by his colleagues and followers. There are no descriptions of any technique in the few books written by A.Still. He describes treatment as "correction of all jars, strains, twists and dislocations" without details on how this should be done. Witnesses say that he worked very fast and it was hard to catch all the details of his work.

Further progress

For the last 100 years osteopathy has progressed as a profession, although not as impressively as medicine in general. Methods of manual diagnosis and treatment were polished and refined. New fields of osteopathy appeared: cranial osteopathy, visceral osteopathy, functional techniques. Attempts were made to check and prove theories and empirical observations scientifically, results of which are still sources for discussions. A lot of success was achieved in osteopathic education. Presently in most osteopathic schools courses last 4-5 years and include fundamental medical sciences - anatomy, physiology, general medicine. Osteopathic schools increased in number and there are colleges in many countries of Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand.

Who are we?

It is quite hard to understand who is who in the medical world, especially in the West. In Eastern European countries it used to be a simple definition: a title "doctor" meant a medically qualified practitioner or Ph.D. In the West a doctor can be: a medically qualified doctor (MD), a doctor of osteopathy (DO), a dentist, a doctor of philosophy in any science (Ph.D.), and also many chiropractors and some naturopaths put Dr. as their title.

In different countries those doctors have different rights. In United States DOs have the same authority as MDs, i.e. drug prescriptions, writing off-work certificates, delivering babies and so on. DOs in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and most European countries are not permitted to do this. In those places osteopathy belongs to complementary medicine (if not to quackery). In the Eastern European countries osteopathy as a profession is just starting to emerge, however, there is a strong school of manual therapy (manual treatment by medical doctors). In Russia the speciality of "manual therapy" has been included into the directory of medical specialities. So a medical doctor can obtain this speciality at the appropriate course of study and practice manual treatment full-time in any medical establishment.

In the West a medical doctor who wishes to practice osteopathy has to study at the osteopathic course and then either practice osteopathy full time independently from the allopathic medical system (privately) or use osteopathy as a part of the medical practice (general practice or otherwise).

Osteopaths in different countries.

There are more than 15 osteopathic colleges in United States. Around 40.000 DOs practice osteopathic medicine. They do general medicine from an osteopathic perspective. Often MDs "tolerate" their osteopathic colleagues, thinking of them as "failed medical students".

In the UK a Parliamentary Bill (Osteopath's Act) was passed through Parliament in 1993 giving Osteopathy the status of a health profession in its own right, and The General Osteopathic Council was formed (GOsC). The act came into full force in May 2000, and now only practitioners and colleges registered with GOsC are allowed to use the word Osteopathy and call themselves Osteopaths. There are 5 osteopathic colleges registered with GOsC and several not registered. There are about 3000 registered Osteopaths. Most Osteopaths work in private practice and relationships with medical colleagues are getting better every year.

Apart from that, Osteopaths practice in most countries of Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Osteopaths practicing functional techniques

Functional techniques do not involve joint manipulation. They are safer and more gentle. These include cranial osteopathy, myofascial techniques, strain-counterstrain and others. It is difficult to estimate the number of Osteopaths practicing functional techniques as the majority of them studied structural osteopathy first and many still practice structural osteopathy along with functional techniques. In USA cranial therapy is not included in official osteopathic profession and is considered a healer's practice. In contrast to this, in other countries cranial osteopathy is regarded as a promising and effective method, especially in the treatment of small children and infants.

Other techniques have their enthusiasts and followers but are far less common.

LONDON COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (LCOM)

LCOM is the only college in the world that conducts osteopathic courses EXCLUSIVELY for medical doctors in an attempt to "breed" orthodox medicine and osteopathy.

LCOM was found in 1946 in order to offer a postgraduate training in Osteopathy to medical practitioners. The college successfully passed registration with GOsC and it's Diploma in Osteopathy is recognised by osteopathic associations worldwide. The course lasts 13 months with 1 month of theory and training and 12 months of supervised clinical practice. There is an option to master some injection techniques as well (epidural injections, prolotherapy).

Candidates for the course must have not less than 8 years of clinical experience in medicine and have a good command of English. The number of students is small, no more than 7-8 for each course. The cost is 3000 pounds. Most tutors at the college have graduated in medicine and have been practicing osteopathy for at least 5 years.

To find out more visit a LCOM web page.

The address of the college is

LCOM
8-10 Boston Place,
London, NW1 6QH
Fax: 44 171 732 7492