Adapt said:
Well, I'm not sure it mattered if you asked. I mean you are a premed so he wouldn't have minded.
OMM stands for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. From my limited knowledge of it, it's basically different types of manipulation that DOs learn in school which are similar to what a chiropractor does.
Let me try.
OMM (Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine) or OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy) is hands on medicine. You often hear the word "manipulation" used. Basically it is a form of treatment where the practitioner uses techniques to help realign the bodies structural components (muscle, bones, fascia) in order to allow the body to better cope with disease or trauma, or even to promote health and prevent disease. There are a number of different techniques that are used than range from very gentle techniques that release the fascia overlying musculature to the more "active" thrusting techniques which often give the patient and practitioner that satisfying "pop" sound when something moves back into place.
OMM was developed, and it still being developed, by practitioners who want an additional modality in treating their patients. OMM has a role in many common medical problems, rarely being the only adjuntive therapy to CURE, but undoubtedly being helpful in shortening duration of illness, relieving pain and allowing the bodies own mechanisms to better defend itself or repair itself.
A list of diseases or complaints that OMM is commonly used for:
Low back pain
Otitis Media (ear infection)
Sinusitis
Pneumonia (productive cough)
Tinnitus
A myriad of Musculoskeletal complaints (both traumatic and nontraumatic)
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Sprained ankle
Paralytic ileus/constipation
Hyperhydrosis
Erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation
Postpartum complications both with mother and baby
Dysmenorrhea
Headaches of various different origins
Lymphatic congestion commonly seen in CHF patients or post-mastectomy patients
COPD
Somatic complaints of visceral origin
Not only is OMM used as a treatment modality, but the osteopathic exam that DO students learn can be useful in formulating a differential diagnosis. Often your palpatory findings can help rule in or rule out certain conditions or point you in a direction so that you can better focus your exam. Of course, you would still follow the standard protocol for things (pt having MI, you get same labs as any other physician would) but one additional confirmatory test in your osteopathic assessment can only help. I know of several people, both DO students and physicians, who have used their osteopathic exam to guide them in the rest of the physical assessment and help them decide which tests to order. It can often be a money saving issue...instead of covering your bases and ordering every test to rule out certain conditions, you can focus yourself based on your palpatory findings and hopefully reach the conclusion faster and more cost effective.
Any other questions, please PM me.
