What is OMM used for?

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NRAI2001

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What are some applications of OMM? I think i read its used to treat pain, but what else?

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NRAI2001 said:
What are some applications of OMM? I think i read its used to treat pain, but what else?


more pain
 
NRAI2001 said:
What are some applications of OMM? I think i read its used to treat pain, but what else?


Historically or nowadays?
 
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Nowadays would be helpful. Thanks!


Dies Irae said:
Historically or nowadays?
 
NRAI2001 said:
What are some applications of OMM? I think i read its used to treat pain, but what else?

to crack peoples bones
 
NRAI2001 said:
What are some applications of OMM? I think i read its used to treat pain, but what else?

Increase joint range of motion, reduce hypertonic muscles, restore physiological set point of mucles, and relieve viscerosomatic/somatoviscero/somatosomatic effects are some of the other applications.
 
NRAI2001 said:
What are some applications of OMM? I think i read its used to treat pain, but what else?
It's used to enhance cranial powers and advance our magical abilities provided by the little green men in our CSF.
 
NRAI2001 said:
What are some applications of OMM? I think i read its used to treat pain, but what else?

One of the main reasons I want to be a DO is the help that OMM has had for me personally. I think it is a very valuable tool for a family doctor to have. I work in an urgent care facility and there are so many people who come in with chronic pain. A lot are just drug seekers of course. But a lot of them just need a little OMM in their lives.

I used to see a chiropractor weekly and now I see my DO just maybe once every six months. My posture rocks and I can actually touch my toes. I have a ballerina's body shape and could barely bend past my knees most of the time. A pop here and there and I'm all better. I also do daily exercises he has prescribed. Sure beats taking a 19 hr nap on flexiril!! And pain killers don't help a bit unless you want an escape and I like my life too much for that!!

I really think the benefits are good for the patients like me. But if you're going into a specialty I'm not sure how much it would benefit you other than your sore family members and friends will love you if you pop their back!
 
seems like OMM would be a good fit for those thinking of going into pain fellowships in PM&R, neurology, or anesthesiology.

ambernikel said:
I really think the benefits are good for the patients like me. But if you're going into a specialty I'm not sure how much it would benefit you other than your sore family members and friends will love you if you pop their back!
 
stoleyerscrubz said:
seems like OMM would be a good fit for those thinking of going into pain fellowships in PM&R, neurology, or anesthesiology.

An osteopathic approach to patient care (inclusive of functional anatomy) has application in the evaluation and diagnosis of most health problems/conditions that present in the clinical setting.

OMT (osteopathic manipulative treatment) or OMM (osteopathic manipulative medicine) has its efficacy largely dependent on operator skill. Pain management is perhaps its most impressive application, as many patients that have been in debilitating pain for years (treated with everything from chiropractic to morphine to surgery with little to no lasting relief) recover completely after only one or a few focused treatments. Pain management doctors that do not use OMT (as in all allopaths and many DO's that never developed the skill) are often restricted to only treating symptoms (rather than musculoskeletal causes) and thus their patients recover very slowly if at all. Skilled osteopaths use OMT with success in the medical management of many other common serious illnesses as well- including pneumonia, COPD, asthma, and heart failure. Cranial osteopathy has applicability in many neonatal conditions, and has been shown to be especially beneficial in colic, poor feeding, failure to thrive, and cephaloplegia (misshapen skull).


The best osteopathic students find themselves drawn to rehab (physiatry), pain management (via anesthesiology), sports medicine, and neurology- since osteopathic docs in these professions distinguish themselves from all their colleagues and it is critical in the evaluation and treatment in the majority of patients. OMM has limited use in family practice for mild musculoskeletal pain syndromes as well, which generates more income for the practice but may have only modest clinical benefit for the majority of patients seen.

You will find that skill at OMT (if sold correctly) will greatly strengthen your application to the most competetive allopathic residencies in certain specialties- especially rehab medicine. You have a base of musculoskeletal knowledge far above that of most of the other applicants.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
 
bones said:
An osteopathic approach to patient care (inclusive of functional anatomy) has application in the evaluation and diagnosis of most health problems/conditions that present in the clinical setting.

OMT (osteopathic manipulative treatment) or OMM (osteopathic manipulative medicine) has its efficacy largely dependent on operator skill. Pain management is perhaps its most impressive application, as many patients that have been in debilitating pain for years (treated with everything from chiropractic to morphine to surgery with little to no lasting relief) recover completely after only one or a few focused treatments. Pain management doctors that do not use OMT (as in all allopaths and many DO's that never developed the skill) are often restricted to only treating symptoms (rather than musculoskeletal causes) and thus their patients recover very slowly if at all. Skilled osteopaths use OMT with success in the medical management of many other common serious illnesses as well- including pneumonia, COPD, asthma, and heart failure. Cranial osteopathy has applicability in many neonatal conditions, and has been shown to be especially beneficial in colic, poor feeding, failure to thrive, and cephaloplegia (misshapen skull).


The best osteopathic students find themselves drawn to rehab (physiatry), pain management (via anesthesiology), sports medicine, and neurology- since osteopathic docs in these professions distinguish themselves from all their colleagues and it is critical in the evaluation and treatment in the majority of patients. OMM has limited use in family practice for mild musculoskeletal pain syndromes as well, which generates more income for the practice but may have only modest clinical benefit for the majority of patients seen.

You will find that skill at OMT (if sold correctly) will greatly strengthen your application to the most competetive allopathic residencies in certain specialties- especially rehab medicine. You have a base of musculoskeletal knowledge far above that of most of the other applicants.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Do u think to properly use OMT a residency in OMT or another residency that emphasizes OMT (some DO Family prac. residencies incorporate a lot of OMT) is required? Or can it be learned by the classes taken during med school?
 
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You'll definitely learn it in med school. The reason the people in OMT fellowship or FP residency with lots of OMT exposure are so much better at it is because they practice it constantly. It's just like anything else. When you see a surgeon you want someone who has done the procedure hundreds of times. Unfortunately most of us get too busy and don't practice OMT during 3rd and 4th years of med school. If you continue to practice it and learn on your own you will maintain your skills.

-J
 
bones said:
An osteopathic approach to patient care (inclusive of functional anatomy) has application in the evaluation and diagnosis of most health problems/conditions that present in the clinical setting.

OMT (osteopathic manipulative treatment) or OMM (osteopathic manipulative medicine) has its efficacy largely dependent on operator skill. Pain management is perhaps its most impressive application, as many patients that have been in debilitating pain for years (treated with everything from chiropractic to morphine to surgery with little to no lasting relief) recover completely after only one or a few focused treatments. Pain management doctors that do not use OMT (as in all allopaths and many DO's that never developed the skill) are often restricted to only treating symptoms (rather than musculoskeletal causes) and thus their patients recover very slowly if at all. Skilled osteopaths use OMT with success in the medical management of many other common serious illnesses as well- including pneumonia, COPD, asthma, and heart failure. Cranial osteopathy has applicability in many neonatal conditions, and has been shown to be especially beneficial in colic, poor feeding, failure to thrive, and cephaloplegia (misshapen skull).


The best osteopathic students find themselves drawn to rehab (physiatry), pain management (via anesthesiology), sports medicine, and neurology- since osteopathic docs in these professions distinguish themselves from all their colleagues and it is critical in the evaluation and treatment in the majority of patients. OMM has limited use in family practice for mild musculoskeletal pain syndromes as well, which generates more income for the practice but may have only modest clinical benefit for the majority of patients seen.

You will find that skill at OMT (if sold correctly) will greatly strengthen your application to the most competetive allopathic residencies in certain specialties- especially rehab medicine. You have a base of musculoskeletal knowledge far above that of most of the other applicants.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

This was really helpful! Thanks!
 
Bones:

awesome post!
 
NRAI2001 said:
Do u think to properly use OMT a residency in OMT or another residency that emphasizes OMT (some DO Family prac. residencies incorporate a lot of OMT) is required? Or can it be learned by the classes taken during med school?

If you want to dedicate your future practice to osteopathy, I would consider doing an OMM or anatomy undergraduate fellowship, as they will help build a strong foundation upon which to place your specialized knowledge in residency. If you choose several 3rd and 4th year rotations with the best osteopaths in the country, it will greatly augment your training and you may not even need a fellowship. If you take this path, you have plenty of skill to get specialized knowledge and apply your skill in the specialist setting (pain management, neuro, physiatry, etc).

Once you have developed substantial skill and confidence most of your learning will come from your patients and from conferences and you wont need the OMM supervision on a daily basis that a straight OMM or FP/OMM program provides. Just my opinion. These programs are a great help for those who want more supervision and yet think they want to just do OMM (you will need to exert some effort to stay sharp re: the medicine you learned in school if you take this path, and your hospital priv's might be limited depending on where you work).

Also-
realize there is a -HUGE- difference between a mediocre osteopath and an excellent osteopath. Unfortuantely, since there is so much money to be made in an osteopathic practice for those that can prevent surgeries, get patients off their $100/week meds, and cure chronic pain syndromes, and help survival in critically ill patients... often those that dont have the skill to support such a practice find themselves in academic medicine teaching your classes for $120k/year (compare to over $400k/yr for many in private practice). This is why shadowing is so critical as a student. Find community osteopaths that are respected and shadow them whenever you have an open afternoon- especially if the time comes when you start feeling disenchanted with what you're learning in class (for most, that time will come).

If you master your anatomy and neuroanatomy/neurology courses and practice what you've seen the community osteopathic docs do in clinic whenever family and freind health issues arise- and simply use the OMM coursework as an addendum, that is really the road to mastery of the discipline.


Hope that helps

michael

P.S.- some recommended reading if you're interested:

"Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy" -AT Still
"Osteopathy: Research and Practice"- AT Still

both can be found full text for free at
http://www.interlinea.org/atstill.html

Keep in mind that Still was drawing from medical knowledge of 1900. His understanding of pathophysiology was the best of his day, but we know more now... yet his philosophy has survived the test of time. If he was alive today he could incorporate all we know into his osteopathic approach to patient care- and we should too. Also, meds of his day were awful. Today they work for symptomatic relief and emergencies much the way surgery does (and did in his day). Even today, however- meds still dont treat causes or cure most diseases (possible exception being antibiotics for infections, though you could argue an immune/lymphatic/arterial host-side cause of the illness- especially the case of repeat infections).
 
Which programs/osteopaths are you talking about?


bones said:
If you choose several 3rd and 4th year rotations with the best osteopaths in the country, it will greatly augment your training and you may not even need a fellowship.
 
stoleyerscrubz said:
Which programs/osteopaths are you talking about?
I dont want to list a bunch of names for political reasons (this is a small profession where everyone knows everyone else).
But what i can say- there are certainly different docs for different people, and there are many exceptional ones out there. You may have different preferences than i do. I'd go to OMM convocation for networking and finding docs that can do something you want to learn. This is where to find ppl to shadow for 3rd and 4th year. You might try asking your docs and fellows candidly who they look up to or who they would study under if they could.

good luck,
michael
 
OMM doesn't work.

What do you REALLY think about OMM?























37274755.jpg
 
It's just an excuse to feel up hawt patients.

Which I'm fine with.
 
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It's just an excuse to feel up hawt patients.

Which I'm fine with.

This is the only correct answer if you are asked that question at a DO interview.
 
It has many applications, and each DO uses it differently. I just shadowed a DO at his clinic and he uses it in conjunction with general medicine. Some DO's just use OMM strictly by itself. Osteopathic medicine is great because the physician can utilize the tools given to him/her in any manner he/she chooses. I personally love OMM and will be utilizing it every chance I get, at least with chronic cases. I have also personally benefited from OMM. While it isn't a end all cure for everything, it definitely can bring some relief to patients, and it's a good tool to keep in the box.
 
^Are you also a Scientologist?
 
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Only on Sundays
 
Theoretically OMM cures cancer.

What is OMM used for in real life?

Nothing.
 
I was shadowing a DO yesterday, when one of his MAs was complaining of some shoulder pain around her scapula. He put her on the table, cracked her back a and neck a couple of different ways, then started feeling around her shoulder again and she said the pain was gone. She herself seemed pretty surprised that it worked, and I thought it was pretty cool.
 
Are you really that bitter about having to go to DO school?

No, I can't be more proud about being a DO student; I even wear a DO pin on my white coat and believe that DO should not merge residency with ACGME and stuff.

How many times do I have to say that I don't mind OMM in general. I'm all for the "power of touch" thing, and HVLA, and muscle energy are just cool

Doesn't change the fact OMM has very limited use in real life, mainly due to a lack of research i guess.
 
No, I can't be more proud about being a DO student; I even wear a DO pin on my white coat and believe that DO should not merge residency with ACGME and stuff.

How many times do I have to say that I don't mind OMM in general. I'm all for the "power of touch" thing, and HVLA, and muscle energy are just cool

Doesn't change the fact OMM has very limited use in real life, mainly due to a lack of research i guess.

Have you heard of Paul Standley, PhD?

He came and presented at our research day this year. Pretty cool stuff.
 
No, I can't be more proud about being a DO student; I even wear a DO pin on my white coat and believe that DO should not merge residency with ACGME and stuff.

How many times do I have to say that I don't mind OMM in general. I'm all for the "power of touch" thing, and HVLA, and muscle energy are just cool

Doesn't change the fact OMM has very limited use in real life, mainly due to a lack of research i guess.

What's your reasoning for not supporting the merger? Personally I will be livid if it falls through.
 
What's your reasoning for not supporting the merger? Personally I will be livid if it falls through.

From what I understand and this issue, I do not see how the merger could benefit us, and will even harm us if they do not successfully prevent MD student from applying to our residency spots. For instance, many DO students depend on those already-limited 100 osteopathic ortho spots in order to fulfill their dreams to become orthopedic surgeons, and their dreams would take a big hit if we were to add MD competition to the mix. And at the present the system allows us to try to match at highly competitive DO spots while having an ACGME back up (which is a huge huge huge huge advantage), I feel the merger could prevent this from happening anymore.

Another theory of the merger is that DO residency positions will simply go under the ACGME umbrella, and MD students would be prevented from applying to DO residency positions. This makes even less sense, why go under the ACGME umbrella if functionally everything will stay status quo, except adding another layer of bureaucracy (ACGME) to the already bureaucratic nature of AOA?

To me, the proposed merger seems to be more reactionary towards ACGME trying to clamp down on Carib students applying to their residencies, but ACGME's wording on such issue made it so that DO students would be inevitably affected too. There's gotta be a better way to go about this.
 
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No I have not. What did he say? could you sum it up for me pls?

Basically he was looking at the effects of Myofascial release on healing time in modeled tissue due to resultant release of various different chemical mediators. He's spent a lot of time developing the grown tissue models, reproducible injury and treatment techniques, etc. He's finding that even a single "MFR" treatment can be enough to speed recovery from injury by a significant amount, measured multiple different ways.
 
From what I understand and this issue, I do not see how the merger could benefit us, and will even harm us if they do not successfully prevent MD student from applying to our residency spots. For instance, many DO students depend on those already-limited 100 osteopathic ortho spots in order to fulfill their dreams to become orthopedic surgeons, and their dreams would take a big hit if we were to add MD competition to the mix. And at the present the system allows us to try to match at highly competitive DO spots while having an ACGME back up (which is a huge huge huge huge advantage), I feel the merger could prevent this from happening anymore.

Another theory of the merger is that DO residency positions will simply go under the ACGME umbrella, and MD students would be prevented from applying to DO residency positions. This makes even less sense, why go under the ACGME umbrella if functionally everything will stay status quo, except adding another layer of bureaucracy (ACGME) to the already bureaucratic nature of AOA?

To me, the proposed merger seems to be more reactionary towards ACGME trying to clamp down on Carib students applying to their residencies, but ACGME's wording on such issue made it so that DO students would be inevitably affected too. There's gotta be a better way to go about this.

:xf:
 
Basically he was looking at the effects of Myofascial release on healing time in modeled tissue due to resultant release of various different chemical mediators. He's spent a lot of time developing the grown tissue models, reproducible injury and treatment techniques, etc. He's finding that even a single "MFR" treatment can be enough to speed recovery from injury by a significant amount, measured multiple different ways.

We'll see. Hopefully he can prove the theory behind OMM, it will be a happy day for me
 
From what I understand and this issue, I do not see how the merger could benefit us, and will even harm us if they do not successfully prevent MD student from applying to our residency spots. For instance, many DO students depend on those already-limited 100 osteopathic ortho spots in order to fulfill their dreams to become orthopedic surgeons, and their dreams would take a big hit if we were to add MD competition to the mix. And at the present the system allows us to try to match at highly competitive DO spots while having an ACGME back up (which is a huge huge huge huge advantage), I feel the merger could prevent this from happening anymore.

Another theory of the merger is that DO residency positions will simply go under the ACGME umbrella, and MD students would be prevented from applying to DO residency positions. This makes even less sense, why go under the ACGME umbrella if functionally everything will stay status quo, except adding another layer of bureaucracy (ACGME) to the already bureaucratic nature of AOA?

To me, the proposed merger seems to be more reactionary towards ACGME trying to clamp down on Carib students applying to their residencies, but ACGME's wording on such issue made it so that DO students would be inevitably affected too. There's gotta be a better way to go about this.

Fellowships. The AOA doesn't have every opportunity for DO graduates. Plus, I see the standardization of GME as being good rather than bad.
 
Fellowships. The AOA doesn't have every opportunity for DO graduates. Plus, I see the standardization of GME as being good rather than bad.

What's the latest update on this situation? SOMA students at my school are saying the merger is happening in 2015/2016 and MDs will be allowed into former AOA residencies in 2018. Anyone hear anything different?
 
Fellowships. The AOA doesn't have every opportunity for DO graduates. Plus, I see the standardization of GME as being good rather than bad.

A standardized GME can be achieved without merger, it just needs consensus. Additionally, As we worry about GME, perhaps we should also standardize LCME and COCA accreditation criteria?

If a DO graduate wants to pursue fellowship opportunities, under the current rule, he /she is still very welcomed to apply to one. Even if ACGME and AOA are merged, the attitude of residency directors over at mid to high tier currently-ACGME programs towards us probably wont change. I feel that it is inevitable that DO students will still have stigma attached. So I am not exactly sure where you are going with this point.
 
What's the latest update on this situation? SOMA students at my school are saying the merger is happening in 2015/2016 and MDs will be allowed into former AOA residencies in 2018. Anyone hear anything different?

don't quote me on this but I heard rumors that it's not gonna happen this soon any more
 
What's the latest update on this situation? SOMA students at my school are saying the merger is happening in 2015/2016 and MDs will be allowed into former AOA residencies in 2018. Anyone hear anything different?

There are ongoing discussions, but I would not tell anyone that it is going to happen yet. We just don't know.
 
A standardized GME can be achieved without merger, it just needs consensus. Additionally, As we worry about GME, perhaps we should also standardize LCME and COCA accreditation criteria?

If a DO graduate wants to pursue fellowship opportunities, under the current rule, he /she is still very welcomed to apply to one. Even if ACGME and AOA are merged, the attitude of residency directors over at mid to high tier currently-ACGME programs towards us probably wont change. I feel that it is inevitable that DO students will still have stigma attached. So I am not exactly sure where you are going with this point.

http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/Pages/acgme-frequently-asked-questions.aspx

Have you seen/read this?
 

OF course I have... many AOA people as well as our own student governmnent have actually talked directly with our class on numerous occasions, with the most recent talk being about 3 weeks ago. What I got from those talks was that there are still too many unknowns. I am surprised that this webpage makes this issue sound so definite, which is not exactly the vibe I got from the AOA folks . I would take the info on the linked page with a grain of salt.
 
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OF course I have... many AOA people as well as our own student governmnent have actually talked directly with our class on numerous occasions, with the most recent talk being about 3 weeks ago. What I got from those talks was that there are still too many unknowns. I am surprised that this webpage makes this issue sounds so definite, which is not exactly the vibe I got from the AOA folks . I would take the info on the linked page with a grain of salt.

Yeah, I know. That's what makes me so skeptical about it. :( Our school has had a few talks and the FOMA President spoke with us during NOM Week. Apparently there are some reservations and perhaps a little cold feet.

What I got from that Q&A page is that everything is technically ok now, but they sort of make it sound like that's because they got the ACGME Board to delay instituting their proposals. :confused:
 
Yeah, I know. That's what makes me so skeptical about it. :( Our school has had a few talks and the FOMA President spoke with us during NOM Week. Apparently there are some reservations and perhaps a little cold feet.

What I got from that Q&A page is that everything is technically ok now, but they sort of make it sound like that's because they got the ACGME Board to delay instituting their proposals. :confused:

yeah wtf right? Oh well, what's the worst thing that can happen?
 
From what I understand and this issue, I do not see how the merger could benefit us, and will even harm us if they do not successfully prevent MD student from applying to our residency spots. For instance, many DO students depend on those already-limited 100 osteopathic ortho spots in order to fulfill their dreams to become orthopedic surgeons, and their dreams would take a big hit if we were to add MD competition to the mix. And at the present the system allows us to try to match at highly competitive DO spots while having an ACGME back up (which is a huge huge huge huge advantage), I feel the merger could prevent this from happening anymore.

Another theory of the merger is that DO residency positions will simply go under the ACGME umbrella, and MD students would be prevented from applying to DO residency positions. This makes even less sense, why go under the ACGME umbrella if functionally everything will stay status quo, except adding another layer of bureaucracy (ACGME) to the already bureaucratic nature of AOA?

To me, the proposed merger seems to be more reactionary towards ACGME trying to clamp down on Carib students applying to their residencies, but ACGME's wording on such issue made it so that DO students would be inevitably affected too. There's gotta be a better way to go about this.

But as SurgeDO said, wouldn't this be the best outcome for DO students? They'd still have their coveted spots (ENT, Ortho, Urology etc) while being accredited as ACGME, thereby, no longer having the little stigma that there is as being associated with AOA accreditation?
 
But as SurgeDO said, wouldn't this be the best outcome for DO students? They'd still have their coveted spots (ENT, Ortho, Urology etc) while being accredited as ACGME, thereby, no longer having the little stigma that there is as being associated with AOA accreditation?

Beats me
 
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