Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1916-09-19
SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF ITS
PRINCIPLES AND SCOPE.
Scientific, Complete and Efficient
Treatment of Diseases, Discussed
by Dallas Practitioner.
(By DR.. r. C. Virgil)

many years before thlS-he llad Deel
an army surgeon during the civil wa
and had later practiced medicine II
Kansas and Missouri-he had beel
gradually evolving the principles o
this new system and applying then
in his private practice. At last h'
was ready to make declaration an'
a definite statement of the methods
he had been using and announce thai
these same methods constituted {
complete scientific and efficient sys
TEN of treating and curing disease
His announcement made but little
stir in the medical world at the time
The public paid little attention to it,
But from that time osteopathy began
to grow in popular favor, until now
there is not an educated person in
America who has not heard of osteo-
pathy and who does not know some
thing Of its working principles
From the organization of the first
school, where two Of DR.. Still sons
were in attendance with two or three
other students, the number Of colleges
teaching osteopathy has grown to sew
en-. The Los Angeles College Of Os-
teopathic Physicians and Surgeons
alone, has more students enrolled
than the combined enrolment of all
the medical colleges of the Pacific
coast. From the first practitioner,
Dir. Still himself, the number of os-
teopathic physicians has grown until
now there are 5000 practitioners of
osteopathy in the United States. With
but two or three exceptions, there
are state boards of examination and
registration for osteopaths in every
state Of the union Several of these
are separate from the medical boards
but in the majority Of eases the ex.
amining boards are combined-med- |
ical and osteopathic examiners on the
same board. The medical and osteo-
pathic candidates are required to an
swer. the same questions in all the
subjects, with the exception of ma
terra medica and pharmacology
which is not required of the osteo-
paths who are examined in principles
OF osteopathy instead. The curricu-
la Of the two schools are likewise
identical. The student of osteopathy
must master the same subjects that
are found in the curriculum of n col
iege OF medicine, except that the
study Of drugs is omitted, while in
its place is given the study of the
Of osteopathy. The requir-
ed course consists of four wears.
hence it is evident that the csteopath
is as thoroughly trained as the medi-
,al student.
SO much for the history of osteo-
oathy and the qualifications of its :
practitioners; few words regarding ]
is basic principles and scope.
DIR. Woodall has defined osteopathy
Is follows: Osteopathy is a complete
md independent system of treating
diseases by scientific manipulation3
he purpose and intent of each man. F
pulatlon being either to correct some
arrangement in the position of the =
issues or to increase or decrease tbe
ctlvlty of some organ. It is NOT
emedy Or method applicable to some
artlcular disease or group of symp.
oms but is co-extensive with the act
nd science of healing and success
ally treats all durable non-suroical
cute and chronic diseases. It's field
OF only includes all those diseases
'eated by medicines, but also great
any IN which medicines are admit
d to be useless.
The really basic principle is that
SeaSe Is caused by faulty position
condition Of tissue. This NAV he
arrangement of the spine or pelvic
mes, contracted muscle or tight IN
eu hSament, malphosed uterus, or v
iinpaeted bowel. The body is
'chlne of marvellous complexitv
latomy and physiology teach us this
u Anyone with a smattering know
ge OF mechanics knows that a ma
ne to work and function normally
81 be IN perfect adjustment one
II with h another. 1t may limp along
a"hile improperly adjusted but ~
sooner 1t is overhauled and re-
,rea the quicker the danger of a yol
npiete breakdown of all its narts ~,
avoided. a One small part of tbe
out of harmony with tbe sea
ef parts not only fails to do its .,.,
= work but thereby causes failure 0''
nrst one other part to function mu
then another until the entire mal IA,
le Is a wreck. This is lust as ''
9l the human machine. Nature
naed all its parts, the organs and
ues to work in perfect harmonv~
n they fail to do this, disease ex-
AT first it may be purely local VI
etlon and natrro Ill -ONoi V