After the Civil War and following the death of three of his children from spinal meningitis in 1864, Still concluded that the orthodox medical practices of his day were frequently ineffective and sometimes harmful. He devoted the next ten years of his life to studying the human body and finding better ways to treat disease.
Wiki.
Mine differ.
[1] [2] [3] [4]
Not only do my sources resoundingly fail to indicate any 'denunciation of mainstream medicine', but they do indicate that most of Dr Stills observations have been wholly accepted by 'mainstream medicine'.
Since your sources are completely subjective, that's exactly what I'd expect them to say.
In Still's own autobiography (which you can read online
here), he claimed that he could "shake a child and stop scarlet fever, croup, diphtheria, and cure whooping cough in three days by a wring of its neck".
Does that sound plausible to you?
I would suggest that difference in thinking and approach in osteopathy since 1874 is far, far less than the differences in 'mainstream medicine' since that time. Not least because 'mainstream medicine' accepts the principles behind osteopathy - that the body is and complex and integrated system and that the need for invasive surgery or drug use can sometimes be avoided through the treatment of various ailments through the manipulation of bones, muscles and joints.
No, that is merely a modern reinterpretation of the principles behind osteopathy, which actually look like this:
These are the eight major principles of osteopathy and are widely taught throughout the international osteopathic community.
The body is a unit.
Structure and function are reciprocally inter-related.
The body possesses self-regulatory mechanisms.
The body has the inherent capacity to defend and repair itself.
When the normal adaptability is disrupted, or when environmental changes overcome the body’s capacity for self maintenance, disease may ensue.
The movement of body fluids is essential to the maintenance of health.
The nerves play a crucial part in controlling the fluids of the body.
There are somatic components to disease that are not only manifestations of disease, but also are factors that contribute to maintenance of the disease state.
Wiki.
Of course, most of the above is simply tautological fluff. ("The body has the inherent capacity to defend and repair itself"; gee, who'da thunk it?)
As I've already indicated, 'mainstream medicine' has redefined its principles and practices in line with osteopathy.
Er, no. Any proof for this assertion? Didn't think so.
Osteopathic knowledge has increased since 1874, but it is still fundamentally the same system.
Er, no. It has evolved - by necessity - to gain greater acceptance within the modern medical fraternity.
Osteopathy claims to be a potential treatment for:
- Lower & upper back pain
- Neck pain
- Whiplash
- Disc injuries
- Joint pain
- Arthritis
- Sports injuries
- Tennis Elbow
- Headache and migraine
- Digestive disorders
- Asthma and chest complaints
Which do you disagree with, and why?
Off the top of my head: digestive disorders, headache and migraine, asthma and chest complaints. I see no basis for the belief that joint and muscle manipulation can properly treat the symptoms and causes of these conditions. How can you treate digestive disorders by manipulation of exterior body parts?
Osteopathy can probably offer short-term pain relief and limited treatment for the other ailments, but that's about all.
For want of a word that would get me banned... yes.
These people are osteopaths offering physiotherapy. They are not physiotherapists offering cranialsacral therapy. The Woodside Clinic website doesn't even work properly; most of the links are inactive.
To be honest, I'm not entirely convinced by Cranial Osteopathy myself. It's almost at odds with conventional osteopathy
Which should tell you something...
but it has been proven to be effective on young babies (because the cranium isn't fully formed).
Can you direct me to the relevant scientific studies and peer-reviewed documentation?
To paraphrase Linus Torvalds:
"There are literally several levels of [you] being wrong. And even if we were to live in that alternate universe where [you] would be right, [you] would still be wrong."
How pithy!
