Osteopathic Medicine Part 3 – Dr. Richard Chmielewski

What is Osteopathic Medicine and where did it come from? Dr. Richard Chmielewski of the Falcon Clinic in Washington Mills says the practice comes from the Civil War era from physician Andrew Taylor Still. This is the third part of his series, which looks into the future of the medical practice, which is now accepted and often times a part of a patients health plan.

Chmielewski says that the concept of osteopathy focuses on the mind, body and spirit which takes advantage of the human body's amazing ability to heal itself in so many cases. The osteopathic approach is to jumpstart the body's own healing abilities in an effort to partially or completely correct the ailment. Science and technology have resulted in vastly improved understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.

"In the 1870's, Still attended to a young worker who gashed his knee with an ax. Three local physicians wanted to amputate the leg after infection set in. The family called Dr. Still who "…worked on the pelvis and thigh, and gently rotated and stretched the injured leg to relax the inflamed and contracted tissues. By morning the swelling had subsided and the boy was out of danger". 

In 1895, Vermont became the first state to accept the practice of osteopathy, but there were still several years of resistance from the establishment. While doctors of osteopathy played a role in the wars of the 20th century, it wasn't until 1966 that osteopathic doctors were allowed to practice within the military. Today, the practice is widely accepted and its future is in the advancement of stem cell research, genetics and even in the advancement of the 3-D printing of human organs.

The Falcon Clinic, located in Washington Mills, is one of the area's only osteopathic medical clinics. Chmielewski says that not all patients see the same results, be he said more often than not, patients see positive results with the use of little or no medicine. He's put together a three part series explaining exactly what Osteopathy is and this, the second of three parts, explains the origin. The third part of the slide presentation can be accessed here- click here 

Watch the interview on WIBX's Keeler Show below.