What is
Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT)?
Osteopathic medicine is a distinctive 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 a system of therapy known as osteopathic manipulative medicine. Osteopathic Medicine emphasizes helping each person achieve a high level of wellness by focusing on health education, injury prevention and disease prevention.
Osteopathic physicians, also known as D.O.s, work in partnership with their patients. They consider the impact that lifestyle and community have on the health of each individual, and they work to erase barriers to good health. D.O.s are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine in all 50 states.
Because of this whole-person approach to medicine, approximately 60 percent of all D.O.s choose to practice in the primary care disciplines of family practice, general internal medicine and pediatrics. Approximately 40 percent of all D.O.s go on to specialize in a wide range of practice areas. If the medical specialty exists, you will find D.O.s there.
Often, when people hear about osteopathic manipulation, they compare it to chiropractic adjustments or massage therapy. In reality, osteopathic manipulation is different from both of these types of manual therapy for a number of reasons. One primary difference between osteopathic manipulation and other forms of therapy is that only the osteopathic physician has the training to apply the underlying philosophy of osteopathic health care with comprehensive medical training in all systems of the body, thus setting the stage for how manipulative medicine can be used with each patient
Osteopathic medical students spend approximately 200 hours of training in the art of osteopathic manipulative medicine in addition to their other medical school courses. This system of hands-on techniques helps alleviate pain, restore motion, support the body’s natural functions and influence the body's structure to help it function more efficiently.
In Brewster, Larry Smith, D.O., offers Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy. For more information, call 509-689-4207.
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