Whole Person Medicine: A Definition Articulated Osteopathically

MARK E. ROSEN

doi:10.7556/jaoa.2006.106.4.177

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Whole Person Medicine: A Definition Articulated Osteopathically

MARK E. ROSEN

Published/Copyright: April 1, 2006

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From the journal Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Volume 106 Issue 4

To the Editor:

I enjoyed reading the May 2005 special focus issue of JAOA—The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, “The Paradox of Osteopathy: Views on Thought and Traditions in the Discipline.” However, I do not find the ideas described in this issue of The Journal to be true to the practice of osteopathic medicine.

It is quite simple: osteopathic medicine is not limited to the musculoskeletal system. While the musculoskeletal system may be used to access total body physiology, the musculoskeletal system is a means, not the end. Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, stated quite clearly that osteopathic medicine is about all of anatomy and its function.

Examples of “whole body” osteopathy are abundantly represented throughout Dr Still's writings. For example, in Philosophy of Osteopathy,¹ Still writes, “The Osteopath seeks first physiological perfection of form, by normally adjusting the osseous frame work, so that all arteries may deliver blood to nourish and construct all parts.” In this same work, Still¹ elaborates further on the role of the osteopathic practitioner:

Your duty as a master mechanic is to know that the engine is kept in so perfect a condition that there will be no functional disturbance to any nerve vein or artery that supplies and governs the skin, the fascia, the muscle, the blood or any fluid that should freely circulate to sustain life and renovate the system from deposits that would cause what we call disease.

Osteopathic medicine is about health. It is about understanding the nature of physiologic function with our hands and minds—and the use of the physician's hands and mind to restore normal physiology in our patients.

While it is certainly important to consider the whole person in medical care, this is not the sole jurisdiction of osteopathic medicine. The “whole person” should be the consideration of any good physician.

Without our hands, and without depth of application, osteopathic medicine is greatly diminished. In our quest for progress, the osteopathic medical profession must not forget the profundity of its origins.

1 Still AT. Philosophy of Osteopathy. 1899. Colorado Springs, Colo: American Academy of Osteopathy; 1977. Available at: http://www.interlinea.org/atstill/eBookPhilosophyofOsteopathy_V2.0.pdf. Accessed February 7, 2006.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2006-04-01

Published in Print: 2006-04-01

The American Osteopathic Association

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