The Leon Chaitow Library of Bodywork and Movement Therapies brings together revised and updated editions of the most influential clinical texts written by Leon Chaitow, ND, DO, a defining figure in modern manual therapy and integrative healthcare. Published by Elsevier, the Library preserves a body of work that has guided clinicians for decades across bodywork, movement, rehabilitation, and pain care, while bringing each title into line with contemporary clinical standards.
Leon Chaitow’s work is distinctive for its commitment to whole-person healthcare and multidisciplinary integration. His books bring manual therapy, movement, breathing, myofascial science, nutrition, pain management, and clinical experience into coherent clinical reasoning. His writing equips clinicians with practical frameworks that support assessment and decision-making, and hands-on techniques across modalities.
The Library is designed for busy clinicians working with complexity. Each volume bridges current evidence and everyday practice, translating research into usable clinical guidance with depth and clinical realism. Each title is revised by carefully selected clinicians and researchers, ensuring that updates are grounded in both expertise and evidence.
The series carries Leon Chaitow’s multidisciplinary legacy forward with an explicit aim of Interdisciplinary integrity, strengthening integration across manual therapy, movement, breathing, rehabilitation, pain care, and whole-person models of practice.
The series is curated by Series Editor Sasha Chaitow, PhD.
Who was Leon Chaitow?
Leon Chaitow, ND, DO (1937–2018) was a pioneering osteopath, naturopath, and educator, widely regarded as one of the defining figures in modern manual therapy and integrative clinical practice. Across more than seventy books and edited volumes, he helped shape how clinicians think about pain, movement, breathing, and function as interrelated systems, and he became known for translating complex science into clear, workable clinical reasoning. His writing consistently bridged disciplines, bringing together manual therapy, bodywork, movement, rehabilitation, and emerging evidence into approaches that clinicians could apply in real-world practice. His impact on mainstream research and practice was sustained as well as wide ranging. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (Elsevier), where he helped foster translational evidence development and its clinical application across the field. He was the first osteopath appointed within the NHS, and later received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Westminster for services to osteopathy and complementary medicine.
The Leon Chaitow Library preserves that original vision while updating it for contemporary standards. Each title is revised by recognised experts to reflect current evidence, modern management principles, and evolving clinical practice, while retaining the integrative clarity that made the books trusted international reference works and textbooks.
Under the leadership of Series Editor Sasha Chaitow, PhD, Interdisciplinary Specialist, School of Physiotherapy, University of Patras, the Library is curated within a consistent editorial framework that supports interdisciplinary integrity and whole-person healthcare across the series.
Current Library Titles
Chaitow’s Muscle Energy Techniques, 5th ed., 2022
Click image for dedicated page, description, & TOC.
Chaitow’s Breathing Pattern Disorders, 3rd ed., due 2026
Click image for dedicated page, description, & TOC.