Introduction

It seems with increasing embarrassment that the osteopathic profession, in US and UK, have to endure a legacy of their past. With regular occurrence the osteopathic successes of the past slowly begin to surface. Unfortunately it is due to a lack of ‘modern scientific’ explanation that the osteopathic profession denies any knowledge of these successes simply dismissing achievements by the very physicians upon whose shoulders modern osteopaths stand. One such embarrassment is the treatment of influenza.

While researching for other publications over the past 15 years I came across papers and articles on the treatment of influenza. Not just one or two papers and articles but running into treble figures all in osteopathic journals. If there were so many papers why had nobody mentioned this in osteopathic training and during continuing professional development? What I have discovered is fascinating. It was not that modern osteopaths didn’t know the treatment of influenza but they actively denied any knowledge of influenza treatment, until recently.

In this short essay/compilation I will try to explain how the osteopaths managed, treated and saved the lives of thousands especially during the 1917-18 pandemic in which an estimated 70 million died world wide. I will refer to old and new documents giving references of source material that will allow you to follow up any further investigations.

The first recoded cases were French soldiers in the trenches during WW1. There is no evidence that even though it was called Spanish flu that it originated from Spain, in Spain they call it French flu. In Britain the earliest cases were in Glasgow and in the following months over 200,000 people died throughout Britain.

What the Journals Say

Ward (1937) gave an interesting introduction to influenza when he wrote:

“Influenza is regarded as the last and greatest uncontrolled pestilence and continues to challenge the best efforts of the osteopathic school of practice to marshal its scientific resources to combat it.

“It is interesting to note that the word influenza was first used by the Italians in 1743 to denote some influence, as it was thought then that this disease, heretofore known as “epidemic catarrh”, was caused by an influence of unknown origin, probably the stars, while to the French influenza was known as la grippe from the word agipper to attack.”

It may have grabbed your attention that the first paragraph talks of influenza and osteopathic practice. It definitely grabbed my attention while researching for other publications. I have now turned towards the issue of osteopathy and influenza to try and clear once and for all the major role of osteopaths in the 1917-18 pandemic of influenza for the public and for the modern osteopath.

Ward continued…

“The influenza pandemic gives us two strings to our bow. Never in the history of the civilized world has there been such evidence of incompetence in the medical profession as in its abject failure to meet the present situation. Not only is the medical profession aware of this, but the lay public has received a jolt in its confidence in medicine which will last many years. Six million deaths in three months is the price paid by the world for the incompetence of loudly lauded modern medicine. Half a million American lives is the price paid by this country, more than our total causalities in the war.”

In an editorial of The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA), January 1919, R. Kendrick Smith, D.O., Boston wrote:

“Osteopathy’s opportunity is today at its zenith. The necessity for osteopathy was never so apparent. And yet the danger to osteopathy looms more menacing than ever before. One of the greatest dangers is in the possibility that the osteopathic profession will not rise quickly enough to meet this great opportunity. Delay spells ruin for osteopathy.”

Unfortunately the osteopathic profession didn’t “rise quickly enough to meet this great opportunity” and osteopathy was ruined both historically and as a system of medical reformation.