Osteopath - Judith O'Sullivan

History of Osteopathy

In 1892, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still was the founder and developer of Osteopathy established the first Osteopathic school in Kirksville, Missouri, America. Dr. Still had studied medicine like his father but when three of Dr. Still’s children died from meningitis he looked for complementary methods of healing the body. He proceeded to research into other ways of healing. He realised that health is only possible when all tissues and cells of the body function together in a harmonious fashion. He believed that if the structure of the body was moving freely, then it would be able to function well. He named his new discipline which involved treatment by use of the hands, Osteopathy.

Dr. William Garner Sutherland D.O. (1873-1954). Dr. Sutherland discovered and taught Cranial Osteopathy from the early 1900’s. He was the first to feel and palpate movement within the bones of the cranium (head). Cranial Osteopathy is an expansion of the general principles of Osteopathy and include special understanding of the central nervous system.