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| First, do no harm. A
thoughtful diagnosis should be made before exposing
the patient to any potentially harmful procedure. |
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Look beyond the
disease for the cause. Treatment should center on
the cause, with effect addressed only when it
benefits the patient in some tangible way. |
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| The practice of
medicine should be based on sound medical
principles. Only therapies proven clinically
beneficial in improving patient outcome should be
recommended. |
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| The body is subject
to mechanical laws. The science of physics applies
to humans. Even a slight alteration in the body's
precision can result in disorders that overcome
natural defenses. |
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| The body has the
potential to make all substances necessary to insure
its health. No medical approach can exceed the
efficacy of the body's natural defense systems if
those defenses are functioning properly. Therefore,
teaching the patient to care for his own health and
to prevent disease is part of a physician's
responsibility.The nervous system controls,
influences and/or integrates all bodily functions.
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| Osteopathy embraces
all known areas of practice. |
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| Excerpted from A
Historical Perspective on the Philosophy of
Osteopathic Medicine, by Robert E. Suter based on
the writings of A.T. Still, Student Doctor, December
1986 |
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With 100 million
patient visits to osteopathic physicians in the
United States each year, it is clear that
osteopathic medicine is gaining ever wider
acceptance by the general public. Men and women
holding the doctor of osteopathy, or D.O., degree
can practice in a full range of medical specialties
anywhere in the country. Most D.O.s, though, are in
family medicine and the other primary care
disciplines of general pediatrics, general internal
medicine and general obstetrics and gynecology. To
understand why this is so, it may help to understand
a little about the profession's roots. |
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| The osteopathic
profession was begun in the late 19th century by
Andrew Taylor Still; a man of strong passions, he
was both a supporter of women's rights and an
outspoken abolitionist. When the Civil War broke
out, Still, not surprisingly, entered the Union Army
to enlist in the fight to crush slavery and worked
as a regimental surgeon. After a series of medical
tragedies in his own family, Still dedicated himself
to the study of the physical and mechanical
structure of the human body. |
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| In 1874 Still laid
the cornerstone of osteopathic medicine by describing the
principles and philosophy on which the profession
was to be based. This philosophy viewed the human
body as a single organism in which each part
interacts with and influences every other part. D.O.s, therefore, are taught to treat each patient
as a whole person, rather than focusing just on the
area that is causing the immediate medical problem.
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| Osteopathic
physicians are also specially trained to use a
procedure called osteopathic manipulative medicine.
This technique makes it possible for physicians,
when appropriate, to use their hands to help
diagnose illness and treat patients. By manually
examining the patient, osteopathic doctors can
detect subtle changes in the body's structure, with
special emphasis on the joints, bones, muscles and
nerves. By using direct or indirect pressure to move
the muscles and bones, doctors often improve
circulation and nerve response, helping the body
heal itself. |
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| What Still began was,
in essence, a reform movement directed against the
widespread abuses and inefficiencies of the health
care of his time. Since then, osteopathic principles
and manipulative techniques have become recognized
as valid medical concepts which are as exciting now
as they were a hundred years ago. This is because
the osteopathic approach leads to a profoundly
personal, "people-oriented" style of practice that
today's medical students find very rewarding. During
his or her medical education, the D.O. student
learns to treat the person as well as the disease
and is taught that the physician's role is to
facilitate the body's own natural recovery
mechanisms. It's not surprising that with this focus
the majority of D.O.s become family doctors who
provide the "grass roots" type of general health
care so much in demand in the United States today.
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