Osteopathy

Osteopathy is the body of medicine that originally used strictly manipulative techniques for correcting somatic abnormalities thought to cause disease and inhibit recovery. However, over the past century, osteopathy has embraced the full spectrum of medicine (to different degrees across the world), including the use of prescription drugs and surgery, in addition to manipulative techniques. Osteopathy or osteopathic medicine is thus both a philosophy and a set of manipulative techniques.

Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine in the USA today

Today in the USA, an osteopathic physician is sometimes described as a physician who, while practicing conventional medicine much like their M.D. colleagues, also maintains the ability to perform osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) (aka osteopathic manipulative techniques (OMT)). OMM is a method of touch and manipulation performed on the musculo-skeletal system to restore balance and symmetry to the individual. In a sense, the OMM practitioner is a combination of Physician, Physical Therapist, and chiropractor.

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A doctor of osteopathic medicine will follow his or her name with the initials D.O., in much the same way as a Medical Doctor follows his or her name with the initials M.D. Medical students for both D.O. and M.D. programs follow essentially the same set of studies, some schools even offering both M.D. and D.O. degrees (e.g. Michigan State University), however, osteopathic students receive additional training in palpatory diagnosis and manipulative (manual) medicine. While the osteopathic community has a strong commitment to primary care, osteopathic physicians can be found in any of the subspecialties. From surgery and anesthesia to emergency and family practice, osteopathic physicians can be found practicing in all fields of medicine, and are fully-licensed physicians in all fifty of the United States.

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The scientific merit of manipulative medicine continues to be a point of controversy. The American Osteopathic Association has made an effort in recent years to both support and promote scientific inquiry into the effectiveness of osteopathic manipulation as well as encourage D.O.s to offer manipulative treatments to their patients. Only a minority of D.O.s incorporate osteopathic manipulative medicine into their daily practices, a trend the AOA is working hard to reverse.

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