History of Osteopathy

Osteopathy originates from America in the 1800’s. Its founder Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917) was a frontier doctor who was frustrated by the limitations of medical knowledge and treatment. Still’s medical exposure and dedication to anatomical and physiological research assisted his search to discover new methods of treatment. Still coined the term “osteopathy” to describe a way of treating which recognised the importance of a harmonious interrelation of all the systems of the body.

Osteopathy was intended to be an adjuvant to conventional medicine, not an alternative system. Osteopathy utilises many of the diagnostic procedures used in conventional medical diagnosis. Its uniqueness has been attributed to the way the patient is assessed from mechanical, functional, postural and environmental perspectives, and the manual hands-on methods of treatment tailored to suit the needs of each patient.

In 1892 Still set up the first college dedicated to the teaching of osteopathy in Missouri, America. The first osteopathic college in the United Kingdom was established in London in 1917.

Nowadays training to become an osteopath involves four or five years of full time study within an honours degree programme. Training involves studying subjects such as anatomy, physiology, pathology and biomechanics together with practical hands-on experience treating patients. With the passing of the Osteopaths Act (1993) the title “osteopath” was made protected by law so that only those who have a recognised qualification from an educational institution accredited by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) have the right to refer to themselves as an osteopath.