Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-10-21
THE SPECTACULAR IN
THE HEALING ARTS

Il is said OF some doctors thar
they never trent an ordinary case;
al OF their patients suffer with some
frightful malady or have peculiarly
virulent type Of disease-sn this that
their fame may be the greater il the
patient RECEIVERS. or that there may
be no blame il he does not However
this may be, il is a fact that the rep
ulatiOn OF many q doctor has been
enhanced by the fact that the pro
acted and complicated illness OF
some patient has resulted in al least
pardsl recovery. when. in truth, their
own methods have been largely re-
sponsible for the unusually long i'll
ness. the complications, and the fact
that recovery was not complete.
On the other hand, in cases equal
Z " severe. the osteopath, who work
ing hand in hand with nature. over
/ comes muscular conIractions. takes
! ne pressure off OF nerves, eQualizes
I the circulation, thus avoiding local
I CONCESSIONS and other complications.
and brings his patient TO a speedy
recovery. by the very fact that COM
f. plicarions are avoided. often fails
10 receive credit for handling Very
serious case.
There is a natural tendency 10 ap-
plaud the skillful surgeon who per
forms a delicate and difficult opera
lion in a desperate case and prevents
the death or prO,ongs the life of the
patient. And who is there who
would wi hhOld applause under such
circumstances? In certain cases the
work OF the surgeon is highly neces-
sary and cannot be dispensed with.
However, his operations are usually
widely known and owing TO the ma
rure OF the case his fame is heralded
abroad, and many times the real
worth of his services is greatly ex-
aggerated.
In striking contrast to this the
work OF the osteopath often appears.
4 patient comes 10 him suffering
with some obscure malady that has
baffled the efforts OF his medical ad-
visor. The osteopath finds in some
structural arrangement the cause Of
mis- symptoms. Some nerve impinge-
ment or some obstrucIed vessel has
produced q condition which, if unre-
lieved, will sooner or later drive the
patient 10 the surgeons table. Quiet
", carefully. for possibly several
months, treatment is given; the le-
isons are corrected; the patient is
restored TO health. Nothing spectac-
ular about this. The patients friends
do not know, and usually The patti
eni himself does not realize the value
OF the service that has been rendered
Yet prevention is better than cure.
When We say prevention we mean
more than that a particular illness
may be avoided. Though osteopathy
often does this, for perfectly ad-
Z iusted body, with all its organs fune-
tioning properly, is better able 10
I resist disease. But when disease
! does find lodgment in the body the
nature and effect Of osteopathic
! treatment is such that complications
are far less likely TO occur during its
course and distressing sequelae are
I by no means so likely TO follow its
/ termination.
| When a surgical operation is per-
I formed and the patient does not die
the public is informed that the opera
I tion was successful. What the public
/ does not realize and appreciate are
/ the facts that tissues have been di-
! vided, nerves and vessels severed,
and possibly limb or an organ has
been removed. Rarely is the patient
fully restored to health. AS some
one has said: "A bird with a brok-
en- wing can never soar as high as
one that was never injured"
How infinitely better is osteopathy
which, in fair proportion of cases,
precludes the necessity for opera
tions. Thus the danger Of the anes-
ihetic, the shock of the operation.
the weary days OF suffering follow
ing, the loss OF time, the surgeons
fee, the hospital expense, are al
avoided-and the patient has
whole body.
Surely, when people generally
awaken-and they are rapidly awak-
ening-to the fact that the old adage
AN ounce OF prevention is worth a
pound OF cure expresses a great
and practical truth when applied TO
the healing art, then osteopathy will
have fully come into its own and
will be rated al its real worth. This
= Aau