Osteopathy is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. Practitioners of osteopathy are not medically trained and are referred to as osteopaths, unlike Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs), who are licensed to practice medicine and surgery in all 50 US states. Only graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges may practice the full scope of medicine and surgery generally considered to be medicine by the general public.
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States that promotes the practice of science-based medicine, often referred to in this context as allopathic medicine, with a set of philosophy and principles set by its earlier form, osteopathy. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are licensed to practice medicine and surgery in all 50 US states. Only graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges may practice the full scope of medicine and surgery generally considered to be medicine by the general public; US DO graduates have historically applied for medical licensure in 87 countries outside of the United States, 85 of which provided them with the full scope of medical and surgical practice. The field is distinct from osteopathic practices offered in nations outside of the U.S., whose practitioners are generally not considered part of core medical staff nor of medicine itself. The other major branch of medicine in the United States is referred to by practitioners of osteopathic medicine as allopathic medicine.
The University College of Osteopathy (UCO), formerly the British School of Osteopathy (BSO), is the largest and oldest school of osteopathy in the United Kingdom. The UCO holds Recognised Qualification (RQ) status from the statutory regulatory body for osteopathy in the UK, the General Osteopathic Council. The institution was granted degree awarding powers in October 2015. It was given University College status in September 2017 from the UK Privy Council, and it is an exempt charity.
The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is the regulator of the practice of osteopathy in the United Kingdom.
Most physicians in the United States hold either the Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) or the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree (DO). Institutions awarding the MD are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). Institutions awarding the DO are accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). The World Directory of Medical Schools lists both LCME accredited MD programs and COCA accredited DO programs as US medical schools. Foreign-trained osteopaths do not hold DO degrees and are not recognized as physicians in the United States or in other jurisdictions.
William Garner Sutherland, D.O. (1873–1954) was an American osteopathic physician and important figure in American osteopathic medicine. Several of his manual therapy techniques are still practiced today by practitioners of osteopathy, although craniosacral therapy is regarded as pseudoscience by the medical community. Sutherland was the first osteopathic physician to conceptualize the cranial approach and teach it systematically. However, Sutherland acknowledged Andrew Taylor Still as the developer of all osteopathy, including the cranial approach. Sutherland was the first person to claim to feel a rhythmic shape change in the bones of the cranium. He later applied this movement to all body tissues and this movement is the agent of change in dysfunctional tissues. He later named this motion the body's "Primary Respiration."
The College of Osteopaths is a charitable trust that dates from 1948 and provides training leading to a Bachelor of Osteopathy or a Master of Osteopathy degree. The course is designed in part-time mode for the full five years. Lectures take place at the weekends allowing students to continue with full time work until they complete their training. It is validated by Staffordshire University. Uniquely, the course is offered in two locations in the United Kingdom; Borehamwood in Hertfordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The program has been accredited with Recognised Qualification status (RQ) by the national statutory regulatory body The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC).
The American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) is a non-profit organization for osteopathic medical education. Members include osteopathic physicians and medical students, supporters and affiliates, sponsors, and international members.
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licensed as a physician or surgeon and thus have full medical and surgical practicing rights in all 50 US states. As of 2021, there were 168,701 osteopathic physicians and medical students in DO programs across the United States. Osteopathic medicine emerged historically from osteopathy, but has become a distinct profession.
Simeon Hempsall is a former racing cyclist who competed in the road race at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and finished 36th of 84. He also competed in the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Hempsall rode as a professional between 1994 and 1998.
Osteomyology is a multi disciplined form of alternative medicine found almost exclusively in the United Kingdom and is loosely based on aggregated ideas from other manipulation therapies, principally chiropractic and osteopathy. It is a results-based physical therapy tailored specifically to the needs of the individual patient. Osteomyologists have been trained in osteopathy and chiropractic, but do not require to be regulated by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) or the General Chiropractic Council (GCC).
Osteopathic medicine in Canada is similar to conventional medicine in Canada, with the addition of osteopathic manipulation to diagnose and treat patients. Osteopathic physicians hold equal practice rights to non-osteopathic physicians (MDs) in Canada. North American osteopathic medicine requires an osteopathic physician to be trained and receive the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree granted by a College of Osteopathic Medicine accredited by the American Osteopathic Association.
The London School of Osteopathy (LSO) is an osteopathic school in London, England, that offers MOst / BOst (Hons) pathways, validated by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). Through its partnership agreement with ARU, the LSO also has government (HEFCE) funding available for eligible students. The LSO is the only fully part-time osteopathic school to have a UK government funded integrated Masters programme in osteopathy.
The British Osteopathic Association (BOA) was an independent organisation representing osteopaths. In July 2014, the BOA became the Institute of Osteopathy, with a focus on improving public health and patient care.
The International Academy of Osteopathy (IAO) was founded in 1987 by Grégoire Lason who still is the Principal.
Jenette H. Bolles, also known as Nettie Bolles, was an American medical doctor. She was the first woman to study and have a career as an osteopath and the first osteopath in the state of Colorado. She held a number of positions in the medical field and was a suffragette.
Proposition 20, also known as the Osteopathic Initiatives Act, was a California initiated state statute proposed and passed in 1922 to allow for the creation of a state board of osteopathic examiners. Proposition 20 passed with 439,775 Yes votes, representing 57.29 percent of the total votes cast. On the same day, voters approved a similar health care reform, Proposition 16, which allowed for the creation of a state board of chiropractic examiners.
Margaret Wyndham Gore, known as Margot Gore, was a leading British aviator and osteopath. She was appointed MBE for her service as a commander in the Air Transport Auxiliary. She may be the first woman to pilot a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. After the war she trained to be an osteopath rising to teach and then sit on the board of the British School of Osteopathy.
The 1903 Kirksville Osteopaths football team was an American football team that represented the American School of Osteopathy, now known as A.T. Still University, in the 1903 college football season.
