Are you someone who can see that the structure of the body, meaning the orientation of the bones, muscles, ligaments and organs to each other, could affect the function of the body? Do you believe that a person is truly a combination of body, mind and spirit? What about a belief that each person’s body has a self-healing and self-regulating mechanism, which strives constantly to make each of us healthier? If this sounds like you, maybe you should investigate what Osteopathic medicine has to offer.

Osteopathic medicine was developed by a frontier Doctor named Andrew Taylor Still, MD. A veteran of the Civil War, Dr. Still started out practicing the traditional medicine of his day. But, after watching two of his daughters die from spinal meningitis, despite receiving the “best” available medical care, he abandoned it to begin searching for a better method.

He began by studying human anatomy in great detail. He came to realize that for the body to be healthy, the bodies structures and tissues must be able to move and function the way God had designed, that is, without any restrictions. For example, if a muscle in a patient’s shoulder was in spasm, it could restrict blood flow or nerve impulses that normally would travel from the neck to the arm. This might result in numbness, tingling, pain or loss of strength in the arm. Dr. Still’s knowledge of anatomy and highly skilled touch allowed him to feel exactly which tissues were restricted. He would then perform a manipulation treatment to this area, removing the restriction and allowing the body to function correctly, thus healing itself.

He was able to apply his principle to most areas of the body. He could help muscle and bone problems, but also problems of the intestines, the lungs, the eyes and really any organ system in the whole body. He introduced his methods in 1874 and by 1892 they were so popular that he opened his own school to teach others. He called his new health care system Osteopathy and his school’s graduates were DO’s - Doctors of Osteopathy.

Today’s osteopathic physicians are trained and licensed to practice in all areas of modern medicine, equal to their allopathic (MD) colleagues. Some osteopathic physicians pursue advanced training in OMT and specialize in it. These physicians still view the body as Dr. Still did, and believe that by optimizing the body’s structure, an improvement in health will follow. Robert L Mauss, DO is one such physician. He has recently opened a new practice dedicated to traditional osteopathic manipulation at the Gettysburg Holistic Health Center. For further information about osteopathy or Dr. Mauss, please call (717)334-2233.

Ted O’Brien is a Holistic Healer and teacher at the Gettysburg Holistic Health Center at TedOBrien@aol.com