The Unique Advantages of Osteopathic Manipulation

If you’re in pain, now is the best time to be alive in human history. That might sound like an odd statement, but there are more options than ever when it comes to getting lasting relief. Beyond things like medication and surgery, there are a collection of non-invasive, hands-on treatments that patients can turn to, including massage, chiropractic care, and osteopathic manipulation. To a casual observer, these might seem very similar, but osteopathic manipulation actually offers several unique advantages compared to the others, leading to faster healing, more recovery, and overall better outcomes. What are they? You’ll find just a few highlighted below.

The Person Providing the Care

Osteopathic manipulation can only be provided by a DO, or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. In order to become a DO, a person must go through the same general process undertaken by MDs and other physicians—they must earn an undergraduate degree, go to medical school, and then complete a residency. After this, they are required to continually complete advanced training to make sure their skills stay sharp and their knowledge is up to date. This ensures that they have a deep understanding of the human body as well as how to effectively treat it.

While there are certainly very knowledgeable massage therapists and chiropractors out there, the truth is that none of them are medically trained to the same degree as a DO (this includes chiropractors who use “Dr.” in their name). This limits their understanding and makes it easy for them to miss important details when treating a patient, which can potentially prolong treatment or even make things worse in some cases.

The Scope of Care

With massage and chiropractic care, the goals are generally very vague—common ones include things like “relaxation” or “rebalancing the body.” In medicine, these are much too broad to be the focus of a treatment. For osteopathic manipulation, everything is much more defined, such as reducing pain in a certain part of the body, increasing the range of motion, improving blood flow to the area, etc.

Also, osteopathic manipulation can be used as part of an overall treatment plan instead of a standalone cure. A DO can recommend lifestyle changes, medication, and nutritional advice to help bolster the results achieved by osteopathic manipulation to help the patient achieve their goals much faster. This comprehensive approach simply isn’t on the table with massage and chiropractic care.

The Timeline

Massage and chiropractic care are typically intended to go on indefinitely, in that once a person starts either one, they will need to come in regularly for a “session” or “adjustment.” Like with any medical treatment, osteopathic manipulation is designed to end once the patient has achieved their desired level of wellness. This offers a laundry list of benefits to patients when it comes to time, expense, and peace of mind throughout their lives.

Osteopathic manipulation isn’t as familiar to people as massage and chiropractic care, but it should be! If you’re in pain and want it to go away without turning to medication or surgery, a DO near you might be able to offer exactly what you need to ensure that healthy, comfortable days are ahead.

About the Author

Dr. Joel Stein is a DO that has been taking care of patients and getting people out of pain for almost 40 years. Among the many treatments he offers, osteopathic manipulation is one of the most popular and successful. His decades of experience have helped him achieve some truly amazing results for patients who believed they were out of options, and if this sounds like you, then he’s eager to offer you hope. To learn more and schedule a consultation at the Institute for Non-Surgical Orthopedics, click here.