Naprapathy
Encyclopedia
Naprapathy - is a branch of alternative medicine
, a manipulative therapy
, that focuses on the evaluation and treatment of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions.
and chiropractic
, which focuses on spine and subluxations
. Naprapaths working with the spine emphasize the underlying ligaments.
The year 1908 through circumstance and perhaps inevitable progression of new healing concepts, proved to be one of historical moment for two of the first followers of Daniel David Palmer. Oakley Smith, who graduated under "Old Chiro" in 1899, and John F. A. Howard, who was in the Class of 1906, would find themselvles in Chicago, each heading new schools. Smith, a one-time Iowa medical student who had investigated Andrew Still's osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri before going to Davenport, was to take another path. In the strict sense, it was not dissent but schism. For Smith, who would in time reject the Palmer concept of vertebral subluxation, it was to be a total departure as to the "doctrine of disease," and he was to announce his own concept, which was "the connective tissue doctrine."
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
, a manipulative therapy
Manual therapy
Manual therapy, manipulative therapy, or manual & manipulative therapy is a physical treatment primarily used by physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it most commonly includes massage therapy, joint mobilization and joint...
, that focuses on the evaluation and treatment of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions.
History
Naprapathy was founded in the early 1900s by Dr Oakley Smith, an early chiropractor, who called his manual medical technique naprapathy. It is a derivative of osteopathyOsteopathy
Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....
and chiropractic
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
, which focuses on spine and subluxations
Vertebral subluxation
Vertebral subluxation is a term that is commonly used by some chiropractors to describe signs and symptoms of the spinal column. Those chiropractors who assert this concept also add a visceral component to the definition...
. Naprapaths working with the spine emphasize the underlying ligaments.
The year 1908 through circumstance and perhaps inevitable progression of new healing concepts, proved to be one of historical moment for two of the first followers of Daniel David Palmer. Oakley Smith, who graduated under "Old Chiro" in 1899, and John F. A. Howard, who was in the Class of 1906, would find themselvles in Chicago, each heading new schools. Smith, a one-time Iowa medical student who had investigated Andrew Still's osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri before going to Davenport, was to take another path. In the strict sense, it was not dissent but schism. For Smith, who would in time reject the Palmer concept of vertebral subluxation, it was to be a total departure as to the "doctrine of disease," and he was to announce his own concept, which was "the connective tissue doctrine."