Osteopathy

What's OMT?

What type of Physician is a D.O.?

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment, also known as OMT, is one of the most unique and distinctive tools of osteopathic medicine. This is a technique in which D.O.s use their hands to help diagnose and treat an injury or illness.  It is a non-invasive therapy that can be used with or sometimes in place of medication or surgery. 

OMT helps treat structural abnormalities allowing the physician to relieve joint restrictions and misalignments.  Unlike massage therapy, OMT is a deeper technique that addresses musculoskeletal problems.  It is an added expertise that D.O.s can offer patients.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that OMT is not only an effective and low-cost form of treatment for low back pain but also a treatment that decreased the need for medications and surgery.

In addition to being used to treat low back pain and musculoskeletal abnormalities, OMT can be used to treat asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, menstrual pain, sinus disorders and migraines just to name a few.

Instead of just treating specific symptoms, Osteopathic Physicians (D.O's) regard the body as an integrated whole.

D.O.s believe that a person is more than just the sum of their parts. They believe that a person’s lifestyle (including home, work and social environments) can play a tremendous role in the health of that individual.

Thanks to their extra training, D.O.s have a better understanding of the ways that an injury or illness in one part of the body can affect another.

D.O.s (Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine) are fully-licensed physicians who believe that people are more than just the sum of their parts. These physicians practice a “whole person” approach to health care and are known for having a unique understanding of how all of the body’s systems are interconnected and how each one affects the others.

In addition to traditional medical treatment, D.O.s focus special attention on the musuloskeletal system (your body’s interconnected system of nerves, muscles and bones that make up two-thirds of its body mass). D.O.s believe the musuloskeletal system reflects and influences the condition of all other body parts. D.O.s also believe that lifestyle can have a tremendous effect upon one's health.

• D.O.s are fully trained and licensed physicians who can specialize in family practice or in any other field of medicine, and are founded on a philosophy to treat people, not just their symptoms.
• Just like M.D.s, D.O.s must attend four years of medical school, and complete an internship and residency program.  D.O.s take State board exams and are licensed by the State.
• Like M.D.s, D.O.s are complete physicians.  That means the medical care D.O.s provide includes performing surgery, delivering babies, and prescribing medication.
• The D.O. philosophy of patient care focuses on the whole person, not just a specific illness or injury.  This distinct approach has been the foundation of our medical education for approximately 130 years.
• The philosophy of patient-focused care allows D.O.s to provide comprehensive health care, while making the patient feel well cared for.
• D.O.s also have additional training focusing on the body’s structure and function, and its ability to help heal itself.

The number of D.O.s has increased almost 70 percent since 1990, making osteopathic medicine one of the nation’s fastest growing health care professions.

• Currently, there are more than 56,000 D.O.s in the United States. This number is on the rise as more than 10,000 students are currently enrolled in colleges of osteopathic medicine nationwide. 
• In recent years, more and more colleges of osteopathic medicine have opened to fill the demands of students who want to study osteopathic medicine.  Right now, there are 20 colleges of osteopathic medicine across the country.
• D.O.s account for about 18 percent of all family physicians.

For more information, please contact the American Osteopathic Association, 142 East Ontario, Chicago, IL 60611-6824. Phone: (800) 621-1773, ext. 8291. E-mail: info@osteopathic.org. Website: http://www.osteopathic.org/.