Osteopathy, including Cranial Osteopathy, is a system of medical knowledge and treatment that is base on the body’s natural tendency to strive toward a state of health and homeostasis (equilibrium). Osteopathic physicians are trained to palpate (feel) the body’s “living anatomy” (i.e. flow of fluids, motion and texture of tissues, and structural makeup), and to apply manual treatment where needed. This treatment called Osteopathic Manipulation Medicine (OMM) is a non-invasive approach to healing that works by restoring normal structure and function to areas impaired by trauma, disease, systemic disorders etc.
Why Choose an Osteopath?
Long before it was fashionable, DOs advised their patients that the “best drugs” are contained in the body’s immune, metabolic and nervous, and endocrine systems. So strongly do osteopaths believe in the body’s innate healing ability that many have devoted years of additional training, after medical school, to specialize in osteopathic manipulative medicine.
Are you a REAL doctor?
DOs are fully licensed physicians who are authorized to prescribe medication and perform surgery. While attending their own medical schools, DOs are responsible for the same academic discipline as their MD colleagues and receive an additional 300 to 500 hours in the study of the body’s musculoskeletal system. Most graduates from osteopathic medical school go on to osteopathic (DO) or allopathic (MD) residencies to perform all specialties including family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, psychiatry and surgery. Some DOs continue with their study of anatomy, physiology and OMM and incorporate traditional osteopathic techniques of diagnosis and treatment into their medical practice. A small percentage of osteopaths choose OMT as their specialty. Physicians who wish to pursue Osteopathy ion the Cranial Field must take additional courses and train an additional five years in practice to be certified in this area of expertise.
How Does Osteopathy Work?
Osteopaths hold to the common sense principle that a patient’s history of illness and trauma are written in the body’s structure. It is the Osteopath’s highly developed sense of touch that allows the physician to palpate (feel) the patient’s “living anatomy” (i.e. the flow of fluids, motion and texture of tissues, and structural make-up.) The Osteopath’s job is to “set” the body up to heal itself. To restore this normal function, the osteopath gently applies precise and gentle force to promote normal movement of the bodily fluids, eliminate dysfunction in the motion of tissues, and release compression and/or congestion in bones, joints, muscles and other tissues.