Philosophy of Osteopathy by Andrew Taylor Still (android e book reader .TXT) 📕

Nature's method is simple and easily comprehended in delivering purgative medicines, with their softening powers to dry constipated fecal matter. For instance: We would give a purgative in the shape of salts, rhubarb, calomel and other substances of choice. The first question of the physician is how is this to pass through so densely packed substance or fecal matter which is in the bowels? At this time we will be short in the statement. The purgative poisons are taken up by the the secretions conveyed to the lymphatics. To soften and wash out is the object of nature. The lymphatics begin the work of washing out by starting action of the excretories and furnishes the water to soften, which is injected into the bowels from the mouth to the extremities by a system of salivation.

Flux is common in all temperate climates. It generally shows its true nature as dysentery after a few hours of tiresome feeling, aching in head, back and bowels. At first nothing is felt or thought of more than a few movements of the bowels than is common for each day. Some pain and griping are felt with increase at each stool, until a chilly feeling is felt all over the body, with violent pains in lower bowels, with pressing desire to go to stool, and during and after passage of stool a feeling that there is still something in the bowels that must pass. Soon that down pressure partially subsides, and on examination of passage a quantity of blood is seen which shows the case is bloody flux, as the disease is called and known in the southern states of North America, or bloody dysentery in the more northern states. It generally subsides by the use of family remedies, such as sedatives, astringents, and palliative diets. But the severity in other cases increases and the discharges have more blood, greater pain, mixed with gelatinous substance even to mucous membrane of bowels, high fever all over except abdomen, which is quite cold to the hand. Back, head and limbs suffer much with heat and pain, and much nausea is felt at all motions of bowels. Bowels change from cold to hot, even to 104, at which time all symptoms point to inflammation of the bowels. The colon in particular, at which time discharge grows black, frothy and very offensive from decomposition of blood. Soon collapse and death close out the case, notwithstanding the very best skill has been employed to save the life of the patient. The doctor has tried to stop pain by opiates and other sedatives, tried to check bowels with astringents, used tonics and stimulants, but all have failed, the patient is dead.

But the question for the Osteopath is: At what point would you work to suppress the sensation of the colon and permit veins to open and allow blood to return to heart? Does irritation of a sensory nerve cause vein to contract and refuse blood to complete circuit from and to the heart? Does flux begin with the sensory nerves of bowels? If so, reduce sensation at all points connecting with bowels, stop all overplus, keep veins free and open from cutaneous to deep sensory ganglion of whole spine and abdomen. Remember the fascia is what suffers and dies in all cases of death by bowels and lungs. Thus the nerves of all the fascia of bowels and abdomen must work or you may lose all cases of flux, for in the fascia exists much of the soothing and vital qualities of nature. Guard it well, so it can work to repair all losses or death will begin in fascia and through pass it to the whole system.

"Bloody flux" is a flow of blood with other fluids from the mucous membrane of the bowels. A disease generally of the summer and fall seasons, and is more abundant south than north of latitude 40° of North America. It is so well known in this country by its ravages that to describe it is almost useless, as bloody fluids pass from bowels in all cases.

We reason that the veins have contracted by nerve irritation and fail to convey blood to heart on normal time. By which delay decomposition does its work. Thus a cause is seen for excreting fluids by motor action of bowels, when supplied by the excretory system.

An Osteopath to successfully treat flux or bloody dysentery must reason and address his attention first to the soreness and irritation of bowels, which he finds suffering with œdema of mucous membrane of all the glands and blood vessels belonging to the lower bowels. As quiet is the first thing desired, he will direct his attention to the sensory nerves of the colon and small intestines, in order to reduce the resistance of the veins and diminish the arterial action. When he has diminished sensation of the veins of the bowels, the arterial force completes its circuit through the veins back to the heart, with much less arterial action, because venous resistance has ceased and the circuit is normal, and healthy action is the result.

The medicine man addresses his remedies first to the misery, with the desire to relax the nerves and overcome pain, and obtains this result through some class of opiates. After a short rest he addresses his attention to the motor action of the heart, with the view of giving arteries greater power to force arterial blood through all obstructions, and tries to stop all excretory wastings by the use of astringents combined with sedatives and soothing fluids.

The Osteopath will govern sensory and motor nerves by digital suspension of the abnormal irritability of the sensory nerves on the various parts of the spine as indicated by the disease.

He uses no injections for the bowels for the reason that the necessary fluids naturally flow into the bowels to lubricate and quiet, and proceed at once to repair all irritated surfaces, which is abundantly supplied by nature from the mouth of the sphincter ani, without which forethought and preparation, nature's God will prove his incompetency for the great battle of life.

You administer medicines from the chemistry of the arts by mouth, injection and otherwise. We adjust the machinery and depend upon nature's chemical laboratory for all elements necessary to repair, give ease and comfort, while nature's corpuscles do all the work necessary.