Continued ....
Osteopathic manipulative medicine is an outgrowth of two basic concepts that undergird the osteopathic approach to health:
The majority of D.O.s practice general or family medicine, general internal medicine, or general pediatrics with a special focus on providing care in rural and urban under-served areas. Other osteopathic physicians choose to specialize in a wide range of practice areas, including emergency medicine, anesthesiology, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and surgery. All D.O.s receive a strong educational grounding in primary care, building a foundation which many believe makes them better physicians, regardless of specialty.
- Structure influences function, which means that if there is an imbalance, injury or other problem in one part of the body's structure, it will affect function in that area - and sometimes elsewhere in the body, as well.
- The body has an innate capacity for self-healing. Thus, the object of osteopathic manipulation is to eliminate or reduce impediments to proper structure and function, in order to promote the body's own self-healing mechanisms.
The majority of D.O.s practice general or family medicine, general internal medicine, or general pediatrics with a special focus on providing care in rural and urban under-served areas. Other osteopathic physicians choose to specialize in a wide range of practice areas, including emergency medicine, anesthesiology, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and surgery. All D.O.s receive a strong educational grounding in primary care, building a foundation which many believe makes them better physicians, regardless of specialty.
