What is osteopathic medicine?
In the late 1800s, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still developed a philosophy that "body systems are interrelated and dependent upon one another for good health." Although well skilled in traditional medicine and a licensed M.D. in Missouri, Still believed a body was more than a sum of its parts. He promoted the concept that doctors should treat the whole patient and not just a disease or condition.
He also theorized that the musculoskeletal system had a major role in maintaining health and preventing disease and devised manual techniques to alter or adjust the body's structure, known today as osteopathic manipulative treatment.
Still contended that within our own bodies, we have all the elements necessary to stay healthy, providing they are simulated appropriately. He also promoted a concept of wellness and disease prevention as a way to keep people from getting sick.
These beliefs formed the basis of a new way to practice medicine, one different from traditional medicine because it incorporated additional therapies like massage and spinal manipulation. In 1892, Still founded the first school of osteopathic medicine in Kirksville, Mo. He coined the word "osteopathy" by joining two Greek words: "osteon" (bone) and "pathos" (suffering).
Training and education
Just like conventional doctors, or allopaths, an osteopath must graduate from an accredited medical school — in this case, an osteopathic medical school — and complete an internship and residency training. Osteopaths, or doctors of osteopathy (DOs), must be licensed before they can treat people or prescribe medications.
Principles of osteopathy
According to Leon Chaitow ND, DO, MRO, the basic premises of osteopathy include:
- The human body is an integrated unit in which structure and function are reciprocally and mutually interdependent.
- Through complex mechanisms and systems, the human body is self-regulating and self-healing in the face of challenges and diseases, a process known as homeostasis.
- Optimum function of the body systems is dependent upon the unimpeded flow of blood and nerve impulses.
- The musculoskeletal system comprises a major system of the body, and its importance goes far beyond that of providing a supportive framework.
- There are components of disease within the structure of the musculoskeletal system that are not only the manifestations of disease processes, but which are frequently important contributing or maintaining factors in disease processes. These can be local to, or distant from, such disease processes and are usually amenable to appropriate treatment.
(Excerpted from "Osteopathy: A Complete Health Care System" and published on Healthy.net)
Differences between a chiropractor and an osteopath
Sometimes people confuse osteopathy with chiropractic. Both chiropractors and osteopaths treat a patient's whole body. Therefore, both disciplines are considered to be part of a holistic healing philosophy. However, the two professions differ in which types of physical therapy and massage they offer.
Although both osteopaths and chiropractors have completed in-depth training, years of study and licensing, they have two different approaches on how best to heal a person or what is the most effective way to perform musculoskeletal manipulations.
A chiropractor often moves a joint out of its usual range of motion and then puts it back in its original position. An osteopath usually uses "a more gentle technique that stretches the muscles surrounding a joint in ways that they are not used to stretching."
The biggest difference between chiropractors and osteopaths is that chiropractors focus their practice on the spine and joints, with some muscle involvement, while osteopaths treat the entire body, from digestive problems to respiratory problems to pregnancy.
