Still, Andrew Taylor

Osteopathy was devised in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917). His philosophy was that structure governs function, a belief that remains one of the basic principles of modem osteopathy. He claimed that tension in muscles and misaligned bones places unnecessary strain on the body as a whole. The initial strain can be caused by any number of factors, such as physical injury, or habitual poor posture, or by destructive emotions such as anxiety and fear. Adjusting the framework of the body would relieve that strain and enable all the systems to run smoothly so that the body would heal itself. Osteopathy is a manipulative therapy that works the body s structures (the skeleton, muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue) to relieve pain, improve mobility, and restore all-round health (Thomas, 1997 and General References). 

American physician Andrew Taylor Still founded the first school of osteopathic medicine in 1892, based on a theory he had developed in 1874. He theorized that the musculoskeletal system wreis the primary component of good health. Still believed that the structures that supported the nervous system— the skull and vertebrae—influenced the enei that flowed through it. This energy flow could be altered by any musculoskeletal defect, thereby producing disease. To cure the disease, therefore, the physician needed to restore the supporting structures to their natural state through adjustments. 

Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathy, was bom August 6, 1828, in Jonesville (written as Jonesboro by one biographer, E. R. Booth), Lee County, Virginia, of... 

Hildretii AG. The Lengthening Shadow of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. Kirksville, MO The Journal Printing Co, 1938. Jones BE. The Difference a D.O. Makes, millenniiun ed. Oklahoma City Oklahoma Educational Foundation for Osteopathic Education, 2001. 

Trowbridge C. Andrew Taylor Still 1828-1917. Kirksville, MO Thomas Jefferson University Press, 1991. 

In the United States, the use of manipulation divided into two major movements. Andrew Taylor Still developed Osteopathy, which moved finally along the path of combining manipulation with traditional medicine in the twentieth century, and Chiropractic, still practiced today as a treatment aimed primarily at "adjustment" of the spine. 

Hildreth AG. The Lengthening Shadow of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still Macon, MO A.G. Hildretii, 1938. 

There is a common statement in osteopathic lore that Dr. Andrew Taylor Still never wrote a technique book. It is true that he attempted, instead, by way of his writings, to guide his students to an understanding of stmcture and function and then to the application of the treatment that was most appropriate. He resisted the idea that they should do exactly as he had done. He desired thinking osteopathic physicians rather than mimics. 

Still AT. The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy. Kansas City, MO Hudson Kimberly Publishing Co., 1902 (Reprint Kirksville, MO Osteopathic Enterprise). Van Buskirk RL. A manipulative technique of Andrew Taylor Still. 7 Am Osteopath Assoe 1996 96 597-602. 

The cranial concept was originally conceived and developed by William Garner Sutherland from 1899 until his death in 1954. Sutherland s teachings are a direct extension of the principles of osteopathy as taught by Andrew Taylor Still at the American School of Osteopathy. 

A student of Andrew Taylor Still, Frank Chapman graduated the American School of Osteopathy in 1897. Chapman s thoughts and methods did not appear in a vacuum. As a student of the "Old Doctor," he learned the role of the fascia and the importance of the lymphatics in health and disease. Still admonished, "The fascia is the place to look for the cause of disease. .." and "All nerves go to and terminate in that great system the fascia." StiU also stated that, "Finer nerves dwell with the lymphatics than even with the eye" and goes on to say that, "the lymphatic system is the universal system of irrigation."... 

Andrew Taylor Still, MD, had chronic headaches as a young man. Still treated himselfwith a rope swing. He lowered the rope to a few inches above the ground, slung a blanket across it, and then positioned himself with his neck, at the base of the skull, directly on the blanket. He subsequently fell asleep and when he awakened he felt refreshed and pain-free. This method may represent inhibition as well as a positional intervention. Dr. Still included some descriptions of both inhibition and stimulation methods in some of his early writings. 

Van Buskirk RL. A manipulative technique of Andrew Taylor Still. J Am Osteopath Assoc 1996 96 597-602. 

Van Buskirk RL. Treatment of somatic dysfunction with an osteopathic manipulative method of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. In Ward RC, ed. Foundations for Osteopathic Medicine. Philadelphia Lippincott Williams Wilkins, 2003 1094-1114. 

In his text. Philosophy of Osteopathy, Andrew Taylor Still stated, "To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease." How do we make sense of these words in the context of modern diagnosis and treatment Any osteopathic diagnosis and treatment must use consideration of the whole patient in view of what maintains the individual s health, even in the presence of disease, injur], or dysfunction. The ability of the osieopathic physician to diagnose and treat patients using iheir heaith as a reference point and not their disease differentiates them from nonosteopathic physicians and adds a unique perspective to heaWi care. 

The osteopath reasons that order and health are inseparable and that when order in all part is found, disease cannot prevail. Andrew Taylor Still... 

Andrew Taylor Still, founder of osteopathy, pointed out the significance of proper functioning of the heart and the arterial system when he stated, "The osteopath s foundation is that aU the blood must move all the time in all parts to and from all organs."... 

The instruction of students in the concepts and principles of osteopathic medicine, as well as in the skills of manipulative medicine, began in a tii r frame building in Kiiksville, Missouri, almost 100 years ago today. Andrew Taylor Still was the foimder and professor of that school. He wrote down maity of his thoughts and ideas, which were later collected into the first books of this professiom... 

---