How are Osteopaths trained and how do they differ from MDs?
Doctors of Osteopathy (DOs) are fully licensed physicians who graduate from a four-year Osteopathic medical school. DOs and MDs often train side by side during their internships and residencies. They may be found in every specialty. In addition to covering all branches of conventional medicine and surgery, Osteopathic medical students and residents also receive 200-500 hours of training in manual diagnosis and treatment. Thus, in addition to using all standard methods of diagnosis and therapy, they also use a system of manual techniques to diagnose areas of structural dysfunction and to assist the body in receiving normal motion and balance in all its tissues and fluids. Rather than merely treating specific symptoms, DOs are more concerned with determining what is causing the imbalance and why. The foundation of their training differs from allopathic (MD) physician in its emphasis on making use of the patient’s own healing mechanisms by working with the principles of nature’s repair sy
