VIOLA M. FRYMANN’S STORY
Viola Muriel Frymann was born in the UK on 18th July, 1921 and spent her childhood in Nottingham.
“I wanted to become a ballet dancer” she often said. But her dream was shattered one day by a serious accident occurred to her ankle. Her family took her to an osteopath. “When I recovered from my disappointment because I could no longer dance, osteopathy became my only thought. I had known the potential of this profession since I was a child”.
So she started scientific studies and, as her father advised her, she completed the University of London Medical school in 1945. Subsequently she decided to leave for California to study osteopathy and enrolled in the Osteopathic College for Physicians and Surgeons in Los Angeles.At the beginning of the ‘50s she moved to San Diego, in La Jolla and she started her practice in a building near the ocean “The Yellow House”.
In 1952, a meaningful meeting caused her professional pathway to change direction. She took part in a cranial osteopathy course in Denver with Dr. William G. Sutherland. “A distinguished man, tall and white haired, with a kind and cheerful manner”.
The following years were characterized by intensive research, enriched by the interaction with the group of osteopath closed to W.G Sutherland.
She committed herself with determination to the defence of Traditional Osteopathy, which is true to the founder’s teachings. “We conceive osteopathy in synchronicity with Dr. Still and Dr. Sutherland” she said during a lesson.
In the meantime, the work in her office developed especially in the pediatric field and step by step she become the international reference for pediatric osteopathy.
During a conference she described her vision of the future “I imagine a center for the osteopathic treatment of children where delivery problems can be recognized and corrected and where prevention, a fundamental aspect of the osteopathic practice, allows children to express their potential in the best way …this is the promise of osteopathy to children”.
This dream became true in 1982 when she founded the ”Osteopathic Center for Children” in San Diego, 54th Place.
A special place, a friendly structure surrounded by a garden with bouganvilleas, pine and lemon trees. The clinics was dedicated to children and families coming from all over the world. In the center she created a osteopathic center training were she provided international courses of pediatric and traditional osteopathy.
With her daily work, carried out with commitment and great professionalism, Dr. Frymann became an international reference point for paediatric osteopathy.
Her pathway was also characterized by intense research activity, with the publication of a range of scientific paper.
Her teachings spread in countries all over the world. She was invited several time to France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, Denmark, Japan, China, Soviet Union, Canada, Australia.
Dr. Viola M. Frymann ascended to the heavens on 23 January 2016.