"Within man's body there is a capacity for health. If this capacity is recognized and normalized, disease can be both prevented and treated."
- A.T. Still, M.D., D.O.
Founder of Osteopathic Medicine

Osteopathic Medicine is a philosophy, a science and an art. Its philosophy embraces the concept that the body is a unit. Its science is based on the foundations of the chemical, physical and biological sciences as they relate to the maintenance of health as well as the prevention and management of disease. Its art is the application of this philosophy and science in al branches of medicine and surgery.

Osteopathic medicine was founded by A. T. Still, M.D., a frontier physician in the late- 1800's. After having personal experiences with headaches and pain as well as loosing his family to spinal meningitis, he became disillusioned with the medical practices at that time. Dr. Still developed a philosophy by which osteopathic medicine is practiced. In 1874, the first school of osteopathy was opened.

Health, in the osteopathic sense, is seen as the body's natural capacity to resist and combat adverse influences in both the internal (within the organism) and external (outside the organism) environments. Disease (dis-ease) arises when this natural capacity is reduced or overcome by noxious influences. The osteopathic philosophy truly embraces a wholistic approach to health and wellness.

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