Osteopathic doctors are complete physicians who, along with MDs, are licensed to prescribe medication and perform surgery in all 50 states.  DOs bring something extra to the practice of medicine—a holistic approach to patient care. DOs are trained to be doctors first, and specialists second. The majority of DOs are family-oriented primary care physicians. Many DOs practice in small towns and rural areas, where they often care for entire families and communities.

 Is a comprehensive approach to health care in which osteopathic physicians (DOs) apply osteopathic philosophy, structural diagnosis, and use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in the diagnosis and management of patients.

As part of their osteopathic medical school studies, DOs receive extra training in manipulating the musculoskeletal system—your body’s interconnected system of nerves, muscles, and bones that make up two-thirds of your body mass. This training in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) provides osteopathic physicians with a better understanding of how an injury or illness in one part of the body can affect another.

The art and science of OMM pertain to the assessment of the impact of the malfunctioning neuromusculoskeletal systems on health and disease

Osteopathic physicians design appropriate interventions which often include some form of OMT. There are approximately 15 major types of OMT and more than 1,000 individual techniques.

OMM is incorporated into the training of all osteopathic physicians. With OMM, DOs use their hands to diagnose injury and illness and to encourage your body’s natural tendency toward good health. By combining all other medical procedures with OMM, DOs offer their patients the most comprehensive care available in medicine today.