Webinar: The Biography of William Garner Sutherland with Jane Stark DO

Webinar - Online session English

Brief description.

In a colourful and entertaining presentation, the osteopathic historian Jane Eliza Stark, will take us through the life and times of William Garner Sutherland.

Important questions will be answered such as how did he arrive at his cranial ideas, how did he develop such a highly refined sense of palpation, and why were the patients that he treated during the Great Influenza Pandemic important to his development of the cranial concept?

Time is allotted for questions and answers so please be sure to have a question ready to ask.

About me

Jane Eliza Stark is the author of a new book on the early life of William Garner Sutherland, called Journeyman. Jane is an osteopathic manual practitioner who lives and practices in the countryside about fifty miles west of Toronto, Canada. Besides osteopathy (D.O.M.P.), Jane holds credentials in the fields of athletic therapy (CATc), kinesiology (RKin), and pharmaceutical research administration (MS). She has also completed the Evolutionary Osteopathy (EVOST) program in Europe, which she credits with solidifying her understanding of the importance of historical context.

Jane’s primary passion is researching and synthesizing osteopathic history. In 2000, she began examining the life and times of Andrew Taylor Still, osteopathy’s founder. That project not only fulfilled the requirements for a diploma in osteopathy from the Canadian College of Osteopathy, but also became her first academic publication, Still’s Fascia: A Qualitative Investigation to Enrich the Meaning Behind Andrew Taylor Still’s Concepts of Fascia. Since that publication, Jane’s interest has focused on important osteopaths and corresponding events of the late 1800s, culminating in her newly-released book, Journeyman: William Garner Sutherland, the Formative Years (1873-1900).

Jane has the unique ability to situate osteopathic figures, such as A.T. Still, John Martin Littlejohn, and now William Garner Sutherland, in their historical context, thereby enhancing the relevance of otherwise inconsequential lists of facts, probabilities, and possibilities. Her historical renditions are carefully constructed to limit author bias, allowing the reader the freedom to make his or her own determination of the significance of each element of the story. In addition, Jane always provides an easy-to-follow and thoroughly documented set of references, so not only are her writings verifiable, but also serve as lasting and reliable reference works.

In addition to practicing, researching, and writing, Jane has lectured internationally and has taught seminars on many subjects, such as a fluidic approach to fascia, osteopathic history, A.T. Still, the Spanish flu, spirituality in early osteopathy, considerations for patients with acute low back pain, and Sutherland’s approach for patients recovering from influenza. With her travel currently limited by COVID-19 restrictions, Jane is busy working on the companion volume to Journeyman, which is to be titled Fulcrum: William Garner Sutherland, the Professional Years (1900-1954). Find out more about Journeyman. www.williamgarnersutherland.com or https://www.facebook.com/WGSutherlandDO

Jane Stark is an osteopathic manual practitioner with 22 years of osteopathic experience and 34 years as a certified athletic therapist. Jane is equally skilled at treating complicated chronic conditions and acute sports- or activity-related injuries. Jane’s approach is unique: she not only treats the obvious presenting conditions, but she has an intuitive sense of what the body needs, helping her find and treat factors that are behind those of the presenting issue. As a result, many of her clients report that she can help people who have tried everything else and simply are not getting the results they want and need.

Jane graduated from the Canadian College of Osteopathy in Toronto. She is a faculty member at the Sutherland-Chan School of Osteopathy. Outside of teaching, Jane is known as an authoritative osteopathic historian, with several publications on the subject, the most recognized being Still’s Fascia and Journeyman: William Garner Sutherland: The Informative years (1973-1900). In addition to being an authority on history, she lectures internationally on the subject of connective tissue as it relates to osteopathic treatment; Sutherland’s techniques that he developed based following the Pandemic of 1918; Lumbar discogenic issues from the patient’s perspective; Upper and Lower extremity courses that combine the rigor of orthopaedics with the finesse of osteopathy.

Jane was formerly on the board of directors of the World Osteopathic Health Organization (2009-2011), and has attained a master’s degree in clinical research administration. Jane teachers on a freelance basis in 12 different countries, including Japan, the United States, and throughout Europe. In the next twelve months, she will be featured at conferences or courses in The Netherlands, Spain, Germany (Leipzig, Munster, Mulheim, Sarrbrucken, Neuss), and Poland.

In her capacity as an athletic therapist, Jane spent a decade at the University of Toronto’s David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic. In addition, she has worked at a number of major athletic games, including the Commonwealth Games of 1998, the ParaOlympics in 1996, and the Canada Games in 1991. She was also the head athletic therapist for Canada’s National Men’s Rugby Team from 1991 to 1995.