TSR Med Students' Society Part III

Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917), a Civil War surgeon in the Union army, is credited with discovering osAndrew Taylor Stillteopathy as an alternative to the medical practices common in his day, practices which failed to save his three children from spinal meningitis. Still became convinced that he could cure diseases by shaking the body or manipulating the spine. In his autobiography, he says he could "shake a child and stop scarlet fever, croup, diphtheria, and cure whooping cough in three days by a wring of its neck" (Barrett). He also advocated clean living, including abstinence from alcohol and medically prescribed drugs. Surgery was to be avoided, if possible. Today, D.O.s (doctors of osteopathy) complement manipulation with standard medical methods of diagnosis and treatment, including recommending drug therapy and surgery if appropriate. D.O.s have four years of medical training at a college of osteopathic medicine and do a one-year internship in primary care. Some continue their education in an area of osteopathic specialization. Nevertheless, there has not been scientific validation of Still's theory of shaking and manipulating to remove obstructions.