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Osteopathic manipulative medicine (also called OMM or OMT) is hands-on care performed by a medical doctor. It involves using the hands to diagnose, treat and prevent illness or injury. Using OMM, your osteopathic physician will treat your muscles and joints using techniques including stretching, gentle pressure, and resistance. OMT techniques focus on the structural and functional systems of the body as a whole.

A physician’s decision to use OMM is made on a visit-by-visit basis depending on the condition of the patient at the time of each visit. This leads to a significantly lower number of visits than other health care providers who use manipulation.

Doctors of osteopathic medicine use a variety of methods designed to affect muscles, joints, and soft tissues. These methods may include thrusting techniques similar to treatment by a doctor of chiropractic medicine but also includes gentler techniques to affect the body. OMM also optimizes blood circulation to maintain and restore health while other forms of manipulation tend to focus more on spinal misalignment interfering with nerve transmission.

Your structural exam will begin with an assessment of your posture, spine, and balance. Your physician will then use his/her hands to palpate your back and extremities. They will then check your joints for restriction and/or pain with various motions. Based on the exam findings and the complexity or severity of your problem, a unique treatment strategy is developed for you.

Using a variety of techniques, your physician will apply OMM to your musculoskeletal system to treat structural abnormalities. Depending on your problem and response to OMM, you may require more than one treatment. The end result is the restoration of the body as a whole to maintain better overall health. A thorough knowledge of all systems of the body and comprehensive training make the osteopathic approach a safe and effective form of manipulative therapy.

OMM is an added treatment tool that is covered by many health insurances.

OMM has a growing evidence base demonstrating its safety and efficacy for treating a variety of clinical conditions, including low back pain, pneumonia, asthma, post-surgical pain, and back pain in pregnancy. Patients who receive OMM are also more likely to use less pain medication, get better faster, and be more satisfied with their care.

• Follow up with your primary care or family physician as you normally would with any injury.
• Discuss with your physician if he or she thinks being treated at the OMT Clinic is the best course of treatment for you.
• Check with your physician and/or your insurance carrier to see if your doctor needs to make a referral for you to be seen.
• If your physician decides you could benefit from being seen at the clinic, call (817) 735-2235 to schedule an appointment.