Biography about the founder of osteopathy

Carol Trowbridge: Andrew Taylor Still 1828-1917. A biography of the founder of osteopathy

If you are looking for literature on osteopathy in the normal book trade, you will usually find books on osteopathy written by osteopaths or journalists. In this book, a researcher from the National Still Osteopathy Museum in Kirksville, where Andrew Taylor Still was an osteopath and founded his school, the American School of Osteopathy (ASO), did a thorough research and collected the most important information.

In the first part of the book, Trowbridge describes the circumstances in which Still was born: the civil war, the technical development, Heroic Medicine, which was widespread at the time, and the evolutionary theories of Herbert Spencer and phrenology. It shows how many sources independent of osteopathy Trowbridge must have studied. And it may prove to be an advantage here that Trowbridge is not an osteopath.

The second part is mainly about breastfeeding and its development towards osteopathy. Short trips briefly explain methods and concepts that could have influenced Still, such as the ideas of Lamarck, the phrenology mentioned, and most of all, Spencer's concept of evolution. Of course, Trowbridge has access to an unusually large number of old osteopathic papers through her job, but she has also opened up new sources of information and apparently interviewed individuals. Thus, this book is not only interesting for osteopaths or osteopathic students, but also for laymen and interested parties relevant.

The author has presented on about 300 pages an impressive picture of the founder and above all the justification of osteopathy and its contents. It becomes clear how much content has been lost in the USA, especially from Osteopathy originally thought of by Still. Osteopathy has, in addition to treatments for asthma or diarrhea, also low vision or obstetrics in its treatment spectrum. Nowadays disorders of the external musculoskeletal system such as back pain, headache or shoulder pain are mainly indications, which is why osteopaths are visited.

It is to be hoped that Carol Trowbridge's book will also spread beyond osteopathic circles in order to make the concept behind osteopathy more public aware and accepted. After reading this book about the founder of osteopathy, you can see that Andrew Taylor Still would have wanted it. (Tf)