Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT)
Osteopathic manual therapy/medicine (OMT/OMM) is a manual therapy used to relieve pain and treat various health issues by realigning the body. It addresses mechanical pain in the muscles, joints, and tissues caused by structural imbalances.
We use a range of manual techniques, often involving gentle pressure to adjust muscles, joints, and soft tissues. The provider will always review the proposed methods with you first to ensure your comfort and consent. By properly aligning your body, this treatment empowers your natural ability to heal itself.
Accepting new patients
Key benefits of OMT include:
- Natural Pain Relief: Provides an effective, drug-free alternative for managing chronic conditions such as muscle spasms, tension headaches, and persistent neck or back pain.
- Enhanced Mobility: Helps improve joint stiffness and postural issues, leading to improved flexibility and a greater range of motion.
- Accelerated Injury Recovery: Can aide in or speed up the healing process for some sports-related injuries and repetitive strains.
- Integrated Medical Approach: Works seamlessly alongside conventional medical treatments to boost overall effectiveness without the need for additional medication.
In sports medicine, we use a non-invasive approach (OMT) to manage musculoskeletal conditions, boost performance, and speed up rehabilitation, addressing root causes of pain rather than just symptoms.
OMT serves as an effective alternative for treating various chronic and overuse injuries and can be used for pre-game optimization and post-game recovery.
OMT is used to treat:
- Chronic back pain
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Muscle tension/spasms
- Stiffness after immobilization
- Chronic neck pain
- Tension headaches
During OMT we use:
- Hands-on evaluation: Your physician will use their hands to assess how your muscles, joints, and tissues move.
- Positioning: You may sit, stand, or lie on an exam table while the physician works on your body.
- Gentle treatment: Techniques may include stretching, light pressure, guided movement, or brief positioning of joints or muscles.
- Patient participation: You may be asked to gently move, breathe, or contract muscles during treatment.
- Comfort-focused care: Treatment should not be painful. Most patients describe it as pressure, stretching, or release.
After treatment, some people feel immediate relief; others notice gradual improvement over 24–72 hours. Mild soreness (post work-out feeling) can occur but typically resolves quickly.
While both use hands-on care, there are important differences:
Osteopathic Manual Therapy:
- Performed by a physician (DO) with full medical training
- Focuses on the entire body, not just the spine
- Uses a variety of techniques, many of which are gentle
- Integrated with medical diagnosis, imaging, medications, rehab, and sports-specific care
- Emphasizes how muscles, joints, nerves, and circulation work together
Chiropractic Care:
- Performed by a chiropractor (DC)
- Primarily focuses on the spine
- Often emphasizes high-velocity spinal adjustments
- Typically practiced separately from medical care
Walk-ins are not accepted for this procedure. This condition requires referral and special scheduling considerations. Please call Sports Medicine at 330-543-3500, for assistance.
