Osteopathic Manual Medicine Treatments

Spinal Manipulation

This is a therapeutic treatment that is performed by osteopathic physicians, chiropractic physicians, orthopaedic medicine allopathic physicians and physical therapists. Spinal manipulation is a useful and rapidly efficacious modality. Osteopathic Manual Medicine treatment is used for painful minor intervertebral dysfunctions of the spinal segment. Spinal manipulation acts also on the skin disturbances, muscle, tendon, and periosteal manifestations that result from these spinal segmental dysfunctions. These can be local (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacroiliac or even peripheral). Spinal manipulation does help radicular and/or non radicular (referred pain) disorders. Spinal Manipulation is useful in some cases of herniated disc or muscular stiffness caused by spinal arthritis as well as acute or chronic posttraumatic, postural or static pain syndromes.

Osteopathic Manual medicine is the use of palpation and operated directed techniques to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. The goal of manual medicine is to restore maximal pain free movement of the musculoskeletal system and postural balance. Manual medicine treatment includes the use of, but is not limited to the thrust techniques, soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release, functional release, and muscle energy as well as counterstrain/strain techniques. Manual medicine identifies specific manipulatable lesion and then is treated with an appropriate manipulative technique to resolve that condition.

Osteopathic Manual medicine is as old as medicine itself. Hippocrates, the founder of modern medicine used traction and leverage techniques to treat spinal disorders. In the 19th century, "bonesetters" were popular in Europe and the United States. Andrew Taylor Still, M.D. who founded Osteopathic Medicine in 1874 started using this as an alternative to conventional medicine. In 1896 D.D. Palmer. DC., started the practice of Chiropractic and with the popularity of the positive outcomes that manual medicine provided, orthopaedic surgeons in Europe such as James Menell, M.D., James Cyriax, M.D., Robert Maigne, M.D., and others who were orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists or general practitioners began using these methods of osteopathic manual medicine in Europe and formed the American Association of Orthopaedic Medicine in 1992. Osteopathic Manual medicine has found application in orthopaedic, neurologic, rheumatologic, physical medicine, rehabilitation and primary care.