Osteopathy was founded by Andrew Taylor Still in 1874. Mr. Still was a physician and a surgeon in the United States in the city of Kirksville, Missouri. The first school of osteopathy was founded in this city in May 1892 .

Knowing a great success with the public, the osteopathy discipline was recognized in 1898 as a profession by the state of Vermont. It was under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt that entered the list of recognized professions in the United States of America. Roosevelt had himself been successfully treated with osteopathy.

Subsequently, the American osteopathic profession evolved into a medical and surgical practice forgetting the basics of manual therapy and palpation. Only the American School of Osteopathy kept the traditional way of doing osteopathy.

Osteopathy then took roots in Europe in 1917, more specifically in England. The British government set up in 1993, the Osteopaths Act, placing osteopaths at the same level as doctors and dentists. In France, osteopathy took growth more towards the 60s.

Let’s have a look at our osteopathy practices here!

In Canada, the first osteopathy school to open was the Collège d’Études Ostéopathiques (CEO), in Quebec in March 1981. Then in 1986, the Centre Ostéopathique du Québec (COQ) was founded.

The founders of the CEO also established the Register of Osteopaths of Quebec and the Quebec Association of osteopaths in 1997.

Since 1993, the CEO and the COQ have been negotiating with the Ministry of Education and the Office of the professions so that the osteopathic diploma is recognized as a profession in Quebec. Recently (spring 2015), the profession board agreed to start the process that should lead to the recognition of the profession in Quebec.

At PhysioMédic, three of our physiotherapy therapists also have an osteopathic training in one of the most reputable schools in Quebec. So you can benefit from osteopathy or physiotherapy treatments with an osteopathic approach depending on your insurance coverage.