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osteopathy

Osteopathy is the practice of medicine using the knowledge of the essential relationship between structure and function. A physician who practices osteopathy uses his or her hands to gently restore optimal structural function and balance. This requires extensive training and precisely detailed knowledge of anatomy and physiology in order to promote health and healing in our patients.

Andrew Taylor Still founded the practice of osteopathy in the late 1800s. He was an inventor and a leader in his field, constantly searching for ways to improve on some of the inadequacy of conventional medicine of his time. He became an expert in the manipulation of the musculoskeletal system.

William Sutherland, a student of AT Still, contributed further to the field by studying and teaching the dynamic movement within the tissues of the body. He pioneered the branch of osteopathy known as osteopathy in the cranial field, a practice that requires extensive study and is employed by a minority of osteopathic physicians.

Health is not merely the absence of disease. In order to be well, we need to be intact in body, mind, and spirit. Only then are we fully capable of living out our precious lives on this planet in a brilliant and intentional way. Stresses on the body, whether they be physical, emotional, or mental, may cause dysfunction that can affect the entire system and organism. An osteopathic physician is uniquely trained to be able to diagnose and treat such dysfunction as it expresses itself within the structure and function of the human body. By using the natural therapeutic forces within the body, the system may be brought back to a natural balance and thus achieve homeostasis. Only when we are balanced and well are we able to enjoy our lives to the fullest and contribute to life in the way such that each of us is uniquely suited. When we are well, we are more fully able to adapt to the stresses that we meet every day.

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