Osteopathic Manipulation

3.

Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) was originally developed by Andrew Taylor Still in the late 1800s. As a battlefield physician during the civil war, Dr. Still recognized that traditional treatment techniques such as blood letting were not effected techniques to restore health. Over the course of several years, he developed a diagnostic and healing system based on his observations of the human body.

OMM is hands-on care that involves using the hands to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury. Using OMM, your osteopathic physician (D.O.) will move your muscles and joints using techniques including stretching, gentle pressure and resistance.

OMM is a valuable tool for family doctors and specialists to have. In my experience in family medicine, I’ve often been able to treat a patient with less medication and surgery by using OMM as an alternative or complement to other treatments.

Often what precludes a D.O. from using OMM with his or her patients is the time crunch many physicians face as they strive to keep up with the pressures of insurance company demands. Part of the reason I’ve decided to open this kind of practice is to give me more time with my patients and to be able to care for them using both traditional and alternative treatments without the constraints placed upon so many good physicians in practice today.

OMM, also referred to as OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment) can increase one’s range of motion, help ease joint and muscle pain and tension, and relieve both acute and chronic pain using multiple techniques. Other applications of OMM include treating just about any medical condition from ear infections to asthma to irritable bowel syndrome to carpal tunnel syndrome to many, many others. These treatments are individualized for every patient.

In many cases, OMM can provide immediate pain relief. OMM can also treat most conditions quickly and effectively. And often, OMM, especially as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, can be used in place of medications and surgeries. If OMM can fix something, that’s certainly a better alternative to medications and uncomfortable side effects.