The Origin of the Dorn Method
A German farmer was going about his daily duties at his Saw Mill over 30 years ago, bending to pick up one of his work tools, his day came to an abrupt halt with intense pain shooting through his spine. He had slipped a disc in his spine and was in so much pain he could not stand upright again. He was in obvious need of medical attention so he and his wife made their way to the local doctor. The doctor saw the farmer had slipped a disc as well as attained hernia as a result of the strain, prescribing pain medication and rest.
Home they went with pain relief medication and a recommendation to rest. Being a farm owner, rest didn't come as an easy task, and after only a day of no work and only rest his frustration grew as his spine continued to ache, not appearing to have improved at all.
He ventured out again in search of a second opinion. The local physiotherapist was next, who could offer little assistance; achieving no permanent solution to his spinal displacement and pain. He continued to visit all the therapists in his town and none of them could offer him a solution that would allow him the pain relief so he could to get back to work.
Frustrated he continued searching for an alternative. It was local knowledge amongst him and neighbours that there was a man who lived alone, high up in the mountains that was a traditional healer who had knowledge of healing that was passed down the generations to him from his family. Many people travelled up the mountain seeking an alternative treatment to many ailments, however, the most common reason for people to trek up the mountain to see him was for back pain and problems - therefore he was nick named ‘The Bone Fixer'.
So this farmer decided to make the journey. After a painful hike through the mountains he finally arrived, exhausted and in pain. A man of quite an old age invited him in for a prompt inspection of his spine, hips and legs. The old healer checked his vertebrae and had the farmer swing his arms and legs in ways no other practitioner had done. After only a short time into the treatment the old man asked ‘How do you feel now?' The farmer checked himself and sure enough he could bend forward and backward and twist around freely and to his delight, he was pain free!
Amazed by the immediate result he was bursting to know more about this method of treatment and how simple and gentle it had been for what he was told to be a very serious and almost unfixable injury by all the therapists he had already visited.
The farmer decided he wanted to learn more and started visiting the old hermit for a few hours each day so he could learn how the treatment was done. Not long after he started his visits, the old healer passed away, but he had left behind the knowledge that is now the basis of Dorn Spinal Therapy with our farmer - Dieter Dorn.
Dieter Dorn had no medical background at this stage and decided to go on researching more about the spine and it's many functions. He found there is a relationship between the spine and the rest of the body's organs and meridians and that wrongly seated vertebrae could cause more complications in the body than just back ache.
Feeling confident in his knowledge and ability to diagnose structural problems the time had come to become the therapist. His first patient was his wife. Having suffered from headaches for many years for no known reason she was a perfect candidate for a spinal check and treatment. Using his kitchen table as his work table he proceeded to check and treat her spine, hips and feet. Resetting misplaced vertebrae and evening out her hip placement, the result was noticeable in hours. Her headache started to fade and eventually disappeared. From then on she has suffered no more from migraines and headaches.
His next patients were his neighbours. Word spread that he had ‘magic hands' and before long he had people lined up in his kitchen for relief from their ailments every night of the week. After working on the farm all day he would come home have dinner and then treat at least thirty to forty people a night there on his kitchen table.
For the more than 30 years he has treated people he has never taken any payment. He believes the therapy is necessary to be available to everyone in all walks of life. He encourages people to learn it themselves so they too can help themselves and their families. He is an inspiration to all therapists who have learnt, even had his treatment - over the years it is said he had had his hands on over hundred thousands of spines. His diagnosis time is so fast he will have treated some one in minutes - his touch is perfected to be incredibly sensitive and it is not surprising he is known as the man with magic thumb and fingers.
Today, every naturopath in Europe is taught the basic course of Dorn Spinal Therapy, as it is now called, in his or her studies. He taught a group of doctors, naturopaths and physiotherapists not long after he had perfected the technique and they in turn have gone on to teach the therapy - it is now taught in Universities and Colleges all over the world and is the number one non-manipulative therapy in Europe and many parts of the world. If you ever attend one of his seminars that he teaches himself you will also get a treatment - he treats everyone during the seminar.
Dieter Dorn has retired. He is not teaching any seminars anymore. There are thousands of Dorn Therapists world wide that were taught by him and his lecturers. His ‘Magic' that he learnt and developed from that man in the mountains has not been lost like so many traditional medicines have. Non-manipulative spinal therapy is available to us all thanks to him.
Steffen was lucky to have the privilege to learn and work under Dieter Dorn and was awarded as a Head Instructor/Lecturer to teach and practice Dorn Spinal and Joint Therapy directly in his name.
ND HP Steffen Messerschmidt
