Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT)

What is osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)?

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a hands-on treatment method. OMT is sometimes called osteopathic manipulative therapy or osteopathic manipulation.

Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) use OMT to treat mechanical pain (muscle, tendon or bone pain due to structural imbalance) and a wide range of health conditions. DOs also use OMT to diagnose and prevent disease and help your body function better.

Using several OMT techniques, DOs apply gentle pressure to manipulate the muscles, soft tissues and joints. The treatment encourages your body to heal itself by ensuring that your bones and muscles are aligned and balanced properly.

Who needs osteopathic manipulation treatment (OMT)?

Most people get OMT to treat lower back pain, but DOs use OMT to treat many conditions. Babies, children and adults can benefit from osteopathic manipulative therapy. Pregnant women get OMT to improve sleep and relieve pain. OMT can also help infants who have colic.

People who have osteoporosis, bone cancer or other joint concerns should not get osteopathic manipulative treatment. Be sure to share your health history with your DO before starting this treatment.

What is a DO?

Doctors of osteopathic medicine believe that all the systems in the body work together and affect each other. Also called an osteopath or DO, these doctors focus on the body, mind and spirit as part of one interconnected system.

A doctor of osteopathy practices osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), a type of medicine that includes hands-on treatments. DOs have special training in healing the musculoskeletal system. But they’re licensed to treat the full range of health conditions.

DOs don’t just treat symptoms. Using a holistic approach, they focus on you as a whole person to find out what’s causing your symptoms. To help you feel your best, DOs evaluate your:

• Activity level and exercise habits.
• Diet.
• Environment.
• Lifestyle.
• Mental and physical health.
• Sleep habits.
• Stress levels.

What does OMT treat?

DOs usually use osteopathic manipulative therapy for back pain relief. But OMT can treat many conditions, including:

• Breathing issues like asthma and sinus infections.
• Bowel issues, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and constipation.
• Chronic pain, including fibromyalgia, arthritis, menstrual pain and migraines.
• Musculoskeletal problems like back and neck pain, joint pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Problems associated with pregnancy, such as swelling (edema), insomnia and sciatica.
• Sports injuries and repetitive stress injuries.

By helping restore your structural imbalance, OMT improves nerve and blood circulation to the bodily organ involved – which can help improve health of that organ.

(This service description taken from the Cleveland Clinic’s description of OMT)