Bogus West Brom osteopath opens new clinics - and they are legal

Apr 19 2009 by William Oliphant, Sunday Mercury

A SELF-STYLED back pain specialist banned by the General Osteopathic Council and fined for falsely claiming he was registered has reopened his business.

Paul Kitson, from West Bromwich, was fined £2,000 with costs at Dudley Magistrates’ Court in March 2007 for unlawfully claiming to be a registered osteopath.

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) withdrew his registration in January 2001 after a raft of complaints by genuine GOsC members.

Kitson said he then moved to Spain, but recently declared he is in business again – to treat backs, with fees starting at £25.

He has called his new business Kitson Back Care and says he has clinics in Stourbridge, West Bromwich and Halesowen.

But this time, instead of calling himself an osteopath, Kitson is claiming he is an osteomyologist.

The word – which means a study in bones and muscle – was invented in 1992 as a joke by American Alan Clemens when he was training to be an osteopath.

Anyone can set up as an osteomyologist and no training is needed to treat patients.

Osteomyologists have since tried to set up their own body – the Association of Osteomyologists – but it has not been recognised by any other professional or medical organisation.

Kitson is claiming it is his 30th anniversary in practice and says he uses a “combination of traditional manipulation, massage and the amazing Bionic Hand PAMM”.

He also makes bold claims in an advert that nearly all patients feel the benefit from his treatment immediately.

Our article of 19 April 2009 (Bogus West Brom osteopath opens new clinics - and they are legal) reported that American Alan Clemens had invented the word "osteomyology" as a joke. We now understand that is incorrect. Dr Clemens, who is English, did not develop the name as a joke. The article also stated that anyone could set themselves up as an Osteomyologist. We would like to clarify that the Association of Osteomyology, of which Dr Clemens is Chairman, accepts only fully qualified practitioners who have obtained a professional qualification.