The AACOM's "The History of Osteopathic Medicine":
"Osteopathic medicine is a distinctive form of medical care founded on the philosophy that all body systems are interrelated and dependent upon one another for good health. This philosophy was developed in 1874 by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, who pioneered the concept of "wellness" and recognized the importance of treating illness within the context of the whole body.
Andrew Taylor Still was born in Virginia in 1828, the son of a Methodist minister and physician. At an early age, Still decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a physician. After studying medicine and serving an apprenticeship under his father, Still became a licensed MD in the state of Missouri. Later, in the early 1860s, he completed additional coursework at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Kansas City, Missouri. He went on to serve as a surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War.
After the Civil War and following the death of three of his children from spinal meningitis in 1864, Still concluded that the orthodox medical practices of his day were frequently ineffective, and sometimes harmful. He devoted the next ten years of his life to studying the human body and finding better ways to treat disease.
His research and clinical observations led him to believe that the musculoskeletal system played a vital role in health and disease and that the body contained all of the elements needed to maintain health, if properly stimulated. Still believed that by correcting problems in the body's structure, through the use of manual techniques now known as osteopathic manipulative treatment, the body's ability to function and to heal itself could be greatly improved. He also promoted the idea of preventive medicine and endorsed the philosophy that physicians should focus on treating the whole patient, rather than just the disease.
These beliefs formed the basis of a new medical approach, osteopathic medicine. Based on this philosophy, Dr. Still opened the first school of osteopathic medicine in Kirksville, Missouri in 1892."
-Taken from AACOM's website (http://www.aacom.org/ABOUT/OSTEOMED/Pages/History.aspx)
HISTORY OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
HISTORY OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE IN MINNESOTA
Osteopathic medicine has a rich history right here in Minnesota! Here are some highlights of this history:
Osteopathic Medical School in Minnesota
The 3rd osteopathic medical school ever established in the United States was located in Minneapolis, MN. This medical school was established in 1896 and was named the Northern Institute of Osteopathy (later renamed to the Northern College of Osteopathy). The college graduated approximately 230 medical students before moving to Des Moines, IA where it merged with the Dr. S. S. Still College of Osteopathy (Des Moines, IA) and Northwestern College of Osteopathy (Fargo, ND) in 1902. Three years later in 1905 the Dr. S. S. Still College of Osteopathy consolidated with the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, MO. The American School of Osteopathy is presently the A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) located in Kirksville, MO.
Red Wing, MN
Red Wing, MN holds a deep history of osteopathic medicine within its borders. Several patients of Dr. Andrew T. Still, who lived in Minnesota, requested that an osteopathic office be set up in Minneapolis. Dr. A.T. Still's son, Dr. Charlie Still, D.O., volunteered to fulfill this request, but chose to relocate his office to Red Wing instead in order to satisfy a missionary work request from a notable patient of Dr. A.T. Still, Minnesota State Senator Peter C. Nelson of Red Wing. Through this request, Red Wing became the first city outside of Kirksville, MO to have a permanent office for the practice of osteopathic medicine and also the first ever site in which missionary work was done for osteopathic medicine.
Accompanied alongside Dr. Charlie Still in his Red Wing osteopathic practice was his brother, Dr. Harry Still, D.O. While in Red Wing, the two physicians saved numerous lives of Minnesota citizens during a black diphtheria epidemic that plagued the area. Prior to the two osteopathic physicians moving there, the city was helpless against the disease due to a state law that quarantined those with diptheria, measles and scarlet fever. In a single day, as many as one-hundred and fourteen children died of the disease. However, the two osteopathic physicians did not lose a case that entire winter according to Senator Nelson. Dr. Charlie Still ignored signs on these quarantined houses that were put up by the Minnesota State Board of Health, which was run exclusively by M.D.s, and persevered to successfully treat the ill. Due to the fact that it was law to quarantine diphtheria, he was later arrested for violating the law and going into the quarantined houses. In response to his arrest, Minnesotans from all around the state and even large masses of people from Wisconsin came to Red Wing to revolt against his arrest. Dr. A.T. Still describes in his Autobiography of A.T. Still that "The people declared that from center to circumference of Minnesota, Osteopathy should live" (A.T. Still, 329). This was the first victory in the attempt for recognition of osteopathic medicine in Minnesota, and it proved to be a significant one.
Additionally, while practicing in Red Wing, Dr. Charlie Still believes that he became the first person to prove that osteopathic medicine is a science that can be taught, which ultimately led to the establishment of the first osteopathic medical school in 1892, the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, MO.
Dr. Dale S. Dodson, D.O. (Northfield, MN)
Dr. Dale S. Dodson, D.O. of Northfield, MN was a national leader and advocate for the advancement of osteopathic medicine. Dr. Dodson served as the President of the American Osteopathic Association in the 1979-1980 year. Each year the AACOM's Assembly of Presidents gives an award in honor of Dr. Dodson to an outstanding CEO or CAO who goes above and beyond to to advance osteopathic medicine at one of the nation's osteopathic medical colleges. For a comprehensive biography of Dr. Dodson, see this article in the Northfield News:
Information on this page was obtained from the following sources:
Minnesota Medicine, October 2012 Issue, "Letters to the Editor: Osteopaths Overlooked" (http://www.minnesotamedicine.com/PastIssues/October2012/Letters.aspx)
American Osteopathic Association's History of Osteopathic Medicine Virtual Museum, "Historic Reference of Osteopathic Colleges" (http://history.osteopathic.org/collegehist.shtml)
Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN.
Museum of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville, MO.
An ad for the Northern Institute of Osteopathy in the St. Paul Globe newspaper. June 26, 1898, page 20, image 20, provided by the Minnesota Historical Society. Taken from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
The Northern Institute of Osteopathy issued a monthly magazine, The Northern Osteopath, from July, 1896 to March, 1902. Image taken from Museum of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville, MO.