HEALTH SENSE
OMM: What is it? And, more importantly, what can it do for me? By Dr. Todd Capistrant
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o you want to see a doctor? You found one but their degree says D.O.? What’s a D.O.? Doctors of osteopathy, or D.O.s, have been around for a long time. Osteopathy was first developed by Dr. A.T. Still in 1892. Dr. Still was a pioneering physician who believed the structure of the body was directly connected to the function of the body and its organ systems. Alteration or disruption of the body’s structure could lead to illness. Therefore, correcting the body’s structural issues could improve the overall function of the body and a person’s health. Today there are more than 137,000 practicing doctors of osteopathy in the United States. By the year 2030, 20% of all physicians in the United States will hold the D.O. degree. In fact, many people in the United States have seen a D.O. and did not realize they were seeing a fully licensed and trained physician with a “different” degree. The training of M.D.s and D.O.s is very similar and quite rigorous. One main difference about doctors of osteopathy is that during their medical school training they learn the basic principles of osteopathic manipulative medicine. What is osteopathic manipulative medicine, or OMM? This designation
represents the part of osteopathic medicine that a D.O. would use to diagnosis and address the altered structure of a patient’s body. Osteopathic manipulative medicine is a specialty in and of itself. Just as all physicians learn about the heart, we have cardiologists who specialize even further in disease of the heart. Similarly, all D.O.s learn about OMM, but there are D.O.s who focus their practice on treating the musculoskeletal system. Some of these doctors have even done additional residency training in what is called osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine, or ONMM. The OMM provider is a specialist in the structure and function of the body as seen through the musculoskeletal system. All aspects of the body from the soft tissue, bones, joints, and fluids are vital to a normal functioning person, and the OMM specialist has many techniques to employ to help correct issues in these tissues of the body. Some
of the techniques used are very subtle, and some are much more direct and at times painful. What issues can be addressed by OMM? Any musculoskeletal complaint, not just pain, can be evaluated by a physician working with OMM. OMM is a model of thinking that provides the D.O. physician with a vast tool kit that can be applied to any age patient, from newborn to the elderly. Some of the common issues seen in an OMM department are back and neck pain, muscle strains or sprains, headaches, or pain in the limbs such as carpal tunnel or plantar fasciitis. Any muscle sprain or strain can be evaluated with OMM. In infants, colic or difficulties feeding or latching can be addressed using OMM techniques and theories. In addition to addressing pain complaints, OMM can be used to address decreased range of motion caused by illness or injury. Many athletes seek the help of OMM for maximizing performance and improving body function. If you are interested in learning more about what osteopathic medicine represents or what OMM can address, you can visit www.osteopathic.org. Dr. Capistrant specializes in osteopathic manipulative medicine and is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. He is a member of the growing OMM department at the Tanana Valley Clinic in Fairbanks.
ALASKA PULSE — January 2020
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