Osteopathic Manual Practice

Osteopathy is an established globally-recognized system of healthcare that relies on manual contact for diagnosis and treatment.

Osteopathy, founded in Missouri by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, uses medical and scientific knowledge to apply the principles of osteopathy to patient diagnosis and treatment.

The four core principles of osteopathy are:

The body is a whole unit; the person is a unit composed of body,
mind, and spirit.
The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing,health maintenance, and homeostasis.
Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
Osteopathic clinical reasoning and treatment is based upon an understanding of the basic principles of body unity, self-regulation, and the interrelationship of structure and function.

OMP AND D.O.

The training of osteopathic manual practitioners and osteopathic physicians have the same origin – in the work of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. From the beginning of the 20th century, however, these two fields were evolving differently.

As the name indicates, osteopathic physicians are medical doctors. As such, they are trained to prescribe drugs, perform surgery, deliver babies, and to have the prerequisites to specialize in other branches of medicine. Osteopathic physicians are almost exclusively trained in the USA.

Osteopathic Manual Practitioners (or European Style Osteopaths) are not MDs, they are not trained in allopathic medicine but purely osteopathic manual treatment. Osteopathic Manual Practitioners (OMP) are trained all over the world.

In the United States Medical typically students have Osteopathy classes during the first two years of their medical school. In Europe in order to become an Osteopath (OMP) students go through full-time osteopathic training for 4 or 5 years, depending on the country.

Many techniques that are part of OMP knowledge, are not part of the training of American Osteopaths.

Worldwide Osteopathic Practitioners have a very comprehensive practical training in what has come to be known as Osteopathic Manual Practice. Osteopathy and Osteopathic Manual Practice share the same Philosophy and Principles, but they are quite different concerning the training the student received and the practical approach they propose to the patients.

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