Osteopathic medicine is a holistic approach to healthcare primarily focused on the muscles, joints and spine. Based on the principle that all of the body’s systems are interrelated, osteopathic physicians focus on treating the entire patient – not just their symptoms.
Andrew Taylor Still, who founded osteopathic medicine more than 100 years ago, believed that many diseases and conditions are caused by issues within our body's musculoskeletal system, which includes our nerves, bones and muscles. Because of this, osteopathic physicians evaluate how all of your body parts work together in order to prevent or treat specific health issues.
Osteopathic physicians are fully licensed and receive special training to become doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO) rather than traditional doctors of medicine (MD). In the U.S., one in every four medical students are on the path to becoming a doctor of osteopathic medicine, and there are currently more than 114,000 practicing osteopathic physicians nationwide.
What Does Osteopathic Treatment Look Like?
If you were to make an appointment with an osteopathic physician for knee pain, chances are they will look at a lot more than just your knee. In addition to seeing how your body's entire musculoskeletal system may be contributing to the pain, they will also take lifestyle and environmental factors into consideration.
The most common form of treatment used is osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). Utilizing “hands on” techniques, OMT is used to diagnose, treat and prevent illness or injury. Examples of OMT techniques to help move a patient’s muscles and joints include:
- Stretching
- Gentle pressure
- Resistance
Benefits of OMT include easing pain, restoring muscle and tissue balance, increasing overall mobility, promoting movement of blood flow and more. The treatment can complement and sometimes even replace drugs or surgery as well.
Examples of health conditions that can benefit from OMT include asthma, back pain, migraines, shoulder pain and more.
Osteopathic Manipulation at Lane
Lane Family Practice is proud to provide the expertise of two osteopathic physicians. Our team provides rational treatment based upon an understanding of the basic principles of body unity, self-regulation, and the interrelationship of structure and function.
