On Naprapathy

Naprapathy is defined as a system of drug free therapy, employing manipulation of connective tissues (ligaments, muscles, and joints), to facilitate the recuperative and regenerative processes of the body.  

The word “naprapathy” comes from the Czechoslovakian word “napravit,” which refers to the traditional Bohemian manual therapies that Oakley Smith studied. Napravit means “to correct” or “to fix.” Smith combined “napra” with “pathos,” the Greek word for suffering, or pain. Put together, naprapathy means “to correct the suffering.”

In 1907, Dr. Oakley Smith, a chiropractor who attended medical school at the University of Iowa, founded the field of Naprapathy. Through his chiropractic practice he discovered that the cause of pain and dysfunction in our muscles, nervous system, skeletal system and joints (the neuromusculoskeletal system) is primarily due to changes in the connective tissues and to tension in our soft tissues, rather than being  due to subluxation in the skeletal structures. When there is subluxation, attending to these underlying support systems for the skeletal system, increases the effectiveness of our skeletal adjustments. Naprapathic medicine is based on this understanding.  

The Naprapathic practitioner approaches each patient’s body as an interconnected, functional unit that has the capacity to self-heal and self-regulate. The goal is to restore the individual’s myofascial freedom so they can return to a pain-free, active lifestyle. With our holistic focus on the interconnectedness of the neuromusculoskeletal system, Naprapathic treatment is often remarkably efficient in supporting a patient’s graduation from a life hampered by pain and dysfunction.