What is the history of osteopathy? Osteopathy was developed in the second half of the nineteenth century by a Missouri doctor named Andrew Taylor Still.
After the American Civil War and the death of three of his children from meningitis, A.
T.
Still became convinced that there was a direct link between the body's musculo-skeletal system and good health.
He also believed that conventional physicians treated people with excessive medication.
Devoting his life to finding a way to better treat disease with these ideas in mind, he developed the basic philosophies of what came to be known as osteopathy, from the Greek word for bone.
By the 1890s he had set up a training college and his ideas began to spread abroad.
The first osteopaths arrived in the UK in the early 1900s, and by the interwar period the first British training colleges were established.
During the 1990s, as osteopathy gained mainstream acceptance and patient numbers soared, the first British degrees were approved in collaboration with universities.
In 1993, the UK government passed the Osteopaths Act, which introduced a framework for professional registration and quality-assuring the increasingly popular undergraduate degrees.
In this decade, the first masters courses have been developed, demonstrating osteopathy's strong commitment to the highest standards of scientific and clinical research.
What conditions are treated by osteopathy? Osteopathy is best known as a treatment for musculo-skeletal problems.
Very common complaints with which patients come to osteopaths include back and neck pain, pain in shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and feet, slipped discs, repetitive-strain injury, sciatica, "frozen" or immobile joints, among others.
Some patients seek out osteopathic treatment after a specific injury, maybe sustained at work or whilst playing sport, or after suffering whiplash.
Others come for help with a condition which has not been resolved by another type of practitioner, either medical or complementary.
But osteopathy has a much wider scope than just "aches and pains".
The gentleness of the treatment means it is very useful in treating even the youngest children, pregnant women, the elderly or those who wish to avoid excessive medication.
It has been used very successfully in helping those with chronic asthma and arthritis.
It is also effective in the treatment of certain gynaecological and chronic-fatigue problems.
Moreover, because you will have much more time with an osteopath than with your GP, there will be time for you to fully explain your condition and for the practitioner to ask questions and make suggestions.