What is Osteopathic Medicine?

Osteopathic medicine is a distinctive pathway to medical practice in the United States. Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) are fully licensed physicians with a medical degree and post-doctoral residency training (3-7+years) that enables them to practice in any medical specialty.

In addition to receiving the same medical training as other physicians, osteopathic medical students are trained in osteopathic principles and practice and 200+ hours of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). OMM is a hands-on approach to the diagnosis and treatment of patients, and has been proven effective in treating multiple injuries and illnesses and decreasing complications and length of hospital stays.

Osteopathic Medicine History

Osteopathic medicine was founded by Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, in the late 1800s in Kirksville, Missouri. He recognized that the medical practices of the day often caused more harm than good. He focused on developing a system of medical care that would promote the body’s innate ability to heal itself and called this system of medicine osteopathy, now known as osteopathic medicine.

DOs are trained to look at the whole person from their first days of medical school, which means they see each person as more than just a collection of organ systems and body parts that may become injured or diseased. This holistic focus on patient care means that osteopathic medical students learn how to integrate the patient into the healthcare process as a partner.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, osteopathic medicine is a distinct form of medical practice in the United States. Osteopathic medicine provides all of the benefits of modern medicine including prescription drugs, surgery, and the use of technology to diagnose disease and evaluate injury. It also offers the added benefit of hands-on diagnosis and treatment through osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) therapy. Osteopathic medicine emphasizes helping each person achieve a high level of wellness by focusing on health promotion and disease prevention.

The osteopathic medical profession has a proud heritage of producing primary care practitioners. In fact, the mission statements of the majority of osteopathic medical schools state plainly that their purpose is the production of primary care physicians. Osteopathic medical tradition preaches that a strong foundation in primary care makes one a better physician, regardless of what specialty they may eventually practice.

DOs are complete, fully trained, licensed physicians capable of prescribing medications and performing surgeries. Many DOs incorporate OMM into their care, using their hands to diagnose illness and injury to encourage your body to heal itself. By combining all other appropriate medical options with OMM, DOs offer their patients the most comprehensive care available in medicine today.

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