The future of Osteopathy
Osteopathy is an art. It’s therapy with gentle hands-on manipulations and holistic analysis to diagnose and treat restriction in the body’s inherent rhythm that contributes to and maintains dis-ease. Osteopathy and Functional Medicine take time and guarantee long-lasting results. Unfortunately, most doctors don’t have time to provide hands-on treatment because of the restrictive fifteen-minute appointments required by the American medical system’s money hungry infrastructure.
To practice a hands-on, holistic approach to patient care, Dr. Echeverria and other like-minded Osteopathic physicians must work outside the traditional insurance-driven medical framework. Dr. Echeverria’s passion to optimize health by properly aligning the body’s structure and encouraging the natural rhythm of the body’s flow is best practiced with a monthly membership model at her private practice in Wilson, Wyoming.
The history of Osteopathy
Osteopathic medicine was developed by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still in 1874.
After working as a physician and surgeon in the Civil War, Dr. Still went home to Missouri and continued to practice medicine. In 1864, 3 of his children were diagnosed with spinal meningitis. Dr. Still treated them with the standard treatments of the era, but after the devastating loss of all 3 of them, he came to the harsh realization that modern medicine was dangerously deficient.
Dr. Still spent the next decade searching for a new way to treat disease. He focused on what brought an individual overall health, rather than focusing on the treatment of an existing disease. One of his primary realizations was that structure and function are reciprocally interrelated. This led his practice to have a focus on the musculoskeletal system, because he believed that if he optimized the person’s structure, he would alter, or improve their function. He started doing hands on manipulation, and quickly became known as the “lightning bone setter.” He experienced great success with the techniques that he created, drawing patients from all around to be healed.
In the late 1800s, Dr. Still opened the first school of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, MO. The school was quick to gain popularity and prestige, as people were amazed at his ability to help others so quickly and on such a profound, long-lasting level. Many other Osteopathic schools were soon to follow, both within the US and overseas.
Following in the wake of Dr. Still, William Gardner Sutherland came onto the Osteopathic scene in the early to mid 1900s with the concept of Osteopathy in the Cranial Field. This advancement was deemed as the largest contribution to the field of Osteopathy besides that of the founder (see FAQ on what is Cranial Osteopathy).
In the 1960s, to gain full unrestricted practice rights and prescribing authority in all 50 states, the Osteopathic community merged their medical school curriculum with that of allopathic (traditional Western medicine) schools. This has served as both a success and detriment to the Osteopathic field. It is a success because it has allowed DOs to enjoy unrestricted practice rights. It is a detriment because with the merging of curriculum, came the watering down of the Osteopathic practices and principles taught to medical students.
Osteopathy endured many twists and turns over the past 150 years. In present time, it is growing faster than ever, with DOs now making up over 1/3 of the physician workforce. This incredible shift has come with a more extensive merging with allopathic medical training, such that now DOs and MDs are largely indistinguishable by their patients.