DOs practice medicine, give comprehensive care
(This description of osteopathic medicine is provided by the American Academy of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine in Chevy Chase, MD, and Boyd Buser, DO, associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bieddeford, ME.)
Osteopathic medicine is a distinct form of medical care based on the philosophy that all body systems are interrelated and dependent upon one another for good health. Osteopathic physicians use all the tools available through modern medicine, including prescription medicine and surgery.
Physicians licensed as doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs), like their medical counterparts (MDs), must pass a national or state medical board examination in order to obtain a license to practice medicine. DOs provide comprehensive medical care to patients in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Currently, there are approximately 37,000 DOs practicing in the United States. Reflecting the osteopathic philosophy of treating the whole person, 57% of DOs serve in the primary care areas of family medicine, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics, often establishing their practices in medically underserved areas.
Another 43% are found in a wide range of medical specialties including surgery, anesthesiology, sports medicine, geriatrics, and emergency medicine. Still others serve as health care policy leaders at the local, state, and national levels. In addition, increasing emphasis on biomedical research at several of the osteopathic colleges has expanded opportunities for DOs interested in pursuing careers in medical research.
Beginning in the late 1800s
Andrew Taylor Still is known as the father of osteopathic medicine. After the Civil War and following the death of three of his children from spinal meningitis in 1864, Still concluded that the orthodox medical practices of his day were frequently ineffective, and sometimes harmful. He devoted the next 10 years of his life to studying the human body and finding better ways to treat disease.
His research and clinical observations led him to believe that the musculoskeletal system played a vital role in health and disease and that the body contained all of the elements needed to maintain health, if properly stimulated.
Still believed that by correcting problems in the body’s structure, through the use of manual techniques now known as osteopathic manipulative treatment, the body’s ability to function and to heal itself could be greatly improved. He also promoted the idea of preventive medicine and endorsed the philosophy that physicians should focus on treating the whole patient, rather than just the disease.
Hands-on treatment
Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a system of treatment developed by Still, based on his recognition of the role that the musculoskeletal system plays in the body’s continuous effort to resist and overcome illness and disease. Still believed that manual manipulation was useful in stimulating the body’s ability to fight disease and in restoring health.
OMT is composed of a spectrum of manual techniques that today’s osteopathic physicians may use to alleviate pain, restore freedom of motion, and enhance the body’s own healing power. Often these techniques are used in conjunction with more conventional forms of medical care, such as prescribing medication and performing surgery.
Some of the most commonly used manipulative procedures include:
• articulatory techniques;
• counterstrain;
• cranial treatment;
• myofascial release treatment;
• lymphatic techniques;
• soft tissue techniques;
• thrust techniques.
[For more information, contact:
• The American Academy of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, 5550 Friendship Blvd., Suite 310, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-7231. Telephone: (301) 968-4100.]
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