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Health checkup What is a D.O.?
By Maureen Perry, D.O.
What is a doctor of osteopathy, or a D.O.? Most people would say that there is no difference between an M.D. and a D.O., but this is not accurate and deserves a better explanation. A D.O. is the degree awarded to medical students upon graduation from an osteopathic medical school. The word "osteopathy" is misleading because many equate to being a "bone doctor" or chiropractor. But these are not accurate descriptions. In the United States, a D.O. is a physician who is fully trained and licensed to prescribe medication and perform surgery. An osteopath doesn't just treat disease, but tends to the body as a integrated whole. A D.O. practices a holistic approach to medicine instead of just treating specific symptoms or illness. This form of health care developed in the 19th century, and has a proven history. Dr. Andrew Taylor Still founded Osteopathy in 1874 because of his extreme dissatisfaction with traditional allopathic, or "M.D.", medicine. He found that diseases and stress have adverse effects on a patients musculoskeletal system and needed alternative medical treatment. Still's philosophy emphasized prevention and treating the whole person. Holistic treatment and the prevention of smoking, high blood pressure, excessive cholesterol levels and stress are a few of many lifestyle factors the encompasses the idea of wellness he pioneered. Today, students in osteopathic medicine complete the same traditional four years of training in medicine as their allopathic counterparts, but also have mandatory training in Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT). OMT allows physicians to use their hands to diagnose injury and illness, and to encourage the body's natural tendencies toward good health. An example would be where a patient complaining of headaches visits a D.O., who then feels the muscles on the neck and back to determine whether muscle tension is the cause of the headaches. If it is, the D.O. would then use manipulation and possibly medication to help alleviate the headaches. There are 19 osteopathic medical schools in the United States here D.O.'s are trained to be doctors first and specialists second. Specialties range from OB/GYN to Emergency Medicine, Neurosurgery to Sports Medicine. Many presidents and athletes have been treated by D.O.'s and some D.O.'s have held positions of high regard in the medical field and government. [Currently, Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blanck, D.O. is the Surgeon General of the United States Army and also the Commanding General of the United States Army Medical Command] In the past 120 years, osteopathy has evolved and has adapted allopathic treatments while maintaining its own philosophy. Today D.O.'s use both state of the art medical technology and their own ears to listen to the patient, their own eyes to see the patient, and their hands to diagnose and treat.
Dr. Maureen Perry is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and is Board Certified in Family Practice and practices at West Ridge Family Medicine in Greece, NY
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