Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) can be used to treat a variety of painful conditions.
The goal of OMM is to identify somatic dysfunction and reduce or remove the dysfunction.
Osteopathic manipulative treatments improve pain by normalizing biomechanical function, removing structural impediments to vascular and lymphatic drainage, restoring nervous system tone, and decreasing the energetic demand on the body.
relies on a musculoskeletal-oriented diagnosis and treatment; it is a scientifically comprehensive school of medicine that embraces a holistic philosophy. This philosophy recognizes the whole person, the body’s homeostatic mechanics, and its structure-function relationships. Osteopathic treatment focuses on health-oriented principles utilizing the full scope of treatment options including pharmaceuticals, surgery, lifestyle interventions, and OMM.3
1. The human being is a dynamic unit of function integrating mind, body, and spirit.
2. The body possesses self-regulatory mechanisms that are self-healing in nature.
3. Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated at all levels.
4. Rational treatment is based on these principles.
reducing activation of the gamma motor neuron, which lessens the sensitivity of muscle spindles to stretch.
TART/STAR findings can provide information for identifying the source of the pain generator. Conditions causing persistent pain may result in compensatory mechanisms, muscle spasms, and MTrPs. MTrPs are discrete, hypersensitive points in a muscle or fascia that can be felt as a nodule or band, and are associated with a localized twitch response and predicable pain referral elicited upon stimulation.31,32 MTrPs are often associated with LBP, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and pain perceived as angina.33,34,35 A few examples of pain conditions with associated exam findings are described in the following sections.
TABLE 24-1 Five Osteopathic Models of Patient Care | ||||||||||||||||||
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TABLE 24-2 Pain Conditions Commonly Treated With Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Based on Anatomic Region | ||||||||||||||||
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