Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917) was an American frontier doctor who was deeply unsatisfied with the inadequate patient care of his 19th century era. As his perspectives and clinical experiences evolved, Still created an innovative system of diagnosis and treatment.

Advertising himself as a "magnetic healer" and a "lightning bonesetter" and traveling to towns near and far, Still slowly built up his reputation. Word spread about the doctor whose system of drugless, manipulative medicine – officially named "osteopathy" in 1885 – was able to cure many apparently hopeless cases. Still was antagonistic toward the drug practices of his day and regarded surgery as a last resort. Rejected as a cultist by organized medicine, he founded the first osteopathic medical school in Kirksville, Mo, in 1892.

Osteopathy as originally conceived, was an approach to healthcare that emphasized the role of the musculoskeletal system in health and disease. Still believed that health, and not disease, is the natural heritage of man and that the human body has inside itself, within certain limits, the capacity for self-repair and correction. The inherent self-healing mechanism of the body is the backbone and sustainer of the principles and application of osteopathy. Chiropractic Medicine is clearly derived from Osteopathy and it was the Osteopaths of the early 20th century who brought us Cranial-Osteopathy, from which the various Cranio-Sacral therapies have evolved.

Unfortunately, few contemporary Osteopaths still practice the traditional form of osteopathic manipulation. Osteopathy as a profession suffered a difficult progression through the years after Still's death, due I believe to it's founding basis in spirituality, and it's avoidance of pharmaceuticals and invasive surgeries. Ironically, the local church of his time denounced Still's claims of "hands-on" healing as sacrilegious. The Mainstream Medical establishment (then as now) was driven by Darwinian Scientism which strongly wanted to rid all forms of vitalism or spirituality from science and medicine. And at the same time, the pharmaceutical industry was becoming the driving force in the business of medicine. Both agendas had no use for Still's Osteopathy, and desirous of ending competition in the public arena, did everything possible to pressure the government to legislate the practice out of existence. Very much the same way that the big Pharma companies are now pushing the FDA to make simple herbs and nutritional supplements illegal unless prescribed by a Doctor.

There is today a relatively small group of Osteopathic Doctors keeping the original spirit alive. Most notable and relevant to my work are James Jealous D.O. (cranial osteopathy) and Jean-Pierre Barral, D.O. (Visceral Manipulation).

Recent advancements in science, specifically quantum mechanics and molecular biology, and the continued clinical successes by alternative health practitioners are proving old Dr. Still more right than wrong, both conceptually as well as practically.