What is Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine?
A9: Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) is a science and art that combines osteopathic philosophy, palpatory diagnostic skills, and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT). OMT is defined as “the therapeutic application of manually guided forces by an osteopathic physician to improve physiologic function and/or support homeostasis.” When properly applied, it can be curative for primary muscular and skeletal pain, and can decrease symptoms (and possibly decrease the need for medications) in systemic diseases.
Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a form of hands-on care. With OMT, Osteopathic physicians (DO’s) use their hands to diagnose illness and injury, and to encourage your body’s natural tendency towards self regulation, healing and good health. A DO moves muscles, bones and joints using OMT techniques such as stretching, gentle pressure and resistance, and joint mobilization. DO’s receive additional training in evaluating the musculoskeletal system – your body’s interconnected system of nerves, muscles and bones that make up two-thirds of your body. This training provides DO’s with a better understanding of the ways that an illness or injury in one part of your body may affect another. DO’s use OMT to complement more traditional therapies to provide comprehensive medical treatment. The goal of treatment is to enhance the ability of the patient’s body to heal. As healing occurs, the body’s function will be improved and pain will be reduced. Improvements are then maintained throu
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine is a unique form of medical care that focuses upon the musculoskeletal system. The goal of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is to restore maximal pain-free movement by increasing motion in restricted areas of musculoskeletal function. Sports medicine is a natural outgrowth of osteopathic medicine because of its focus upon the musculoskeletal system, diet, exercise and fitness.
By Seth D. Torregiani, D.O. Osteopathic manipulative medicine is a form of hands-on, or manual, medicine practiced by doctors of osteopathy, or DOs. In the United States, DOs are fully trained and licensed physicians, and can prescribe drugs and perform surgery. Similar to medical doctors, DOs attend four years of medical school followed by internship and residency in a specialty of their choice. In practice, most DOs are indistinguishable from their MD counterparts. Many people who get admitted to the hospital or go to see their family physician dont know whether their doctor is an MD or a DO. The difference between the two lies in the philosophy of osteopathic medicine, and the training DOs receive in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). The osteopathic philosophy was developed towards the end of the 19th century by Andrew Taylor Still, MD, a Missouri frontier doctor who became disillusioned by the medicine of his day. At the heart of osteopathic medicine is the belief that the s
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine approaches the patient from an understanding of the complex balance between the musculoskeletal, circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems. Practitioners use “hands-on” treatments to diagnose and treat their patients. These treatments are gentle and safe and restore their natural balance inherent in our bodies. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine works well to improve circulation, improve pain, restore mobility and range of motion, relieve spasm, and assist the body’s natural ability to heal itself. How Is Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Different from Chiropractic Medicine? Chiropractic doctors do not go to medical school, nor do they complete residency training. There is a basic difference between the philosophies of Chiropractors and Osteopathic practitioners. Chiropractic medicine views health as based on the nervous system, whereas the Osteopathic approach seeks to restore balance to the arterial, venous, and lymphatic circulation, improve sympa
