According to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), osteopathic medicine is a complete system of healthcare with a philosophy that combines the needs of the patient with the current practice of medicine. Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) practice a whole-person approach, which means they consider both the physical and mental needs of their patients.

This "holistic" approach to healthcare was actually developed by an American MD. Dr. Andrew Taylor Still feared that 19th-century medicine was doing more harm than good. Disgusted at the ineffectiveness of fellow practitioners during the Civil War, he decided to focus on the body's ability to heal itself and began to stress preventive medicine. He also identified the musculoskeletal system as a key element of health, stressing that muscles, nerves, bones, and organs are all interrelated. In 1892, Dr. Still founded the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri.

A key part of osteopathic medicine is a technique called OMT, or osteopathic manipulative treatment. OMT allows physicians to use their hands as a primary tool to diagnose and treat illness and injury. This form of manual medicine lets DOs examine the back and other parts of the body, such as joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles, for pain and restriction during motion that could signal an injury or impaired function.

Although they sometimes focus on the back, these physicians are not chiropractors. OMT is a treatment very specific to how and where humans injure themselves and how that injury can manifest itself as symptoms.

Both DOs and MDs are physicians. They are both licensed by state and specialty boards to perform surgery and write prescriptions. Applicants to both DO and MD colleges typically have a 4-year undergraduate degree with an emphasis on science courses, and both complete 4 years of basic medical education. In fact, both DOs and MDs:

• can choose to practice in a specialty area of medicine, such as surgery or obstetrics
• complete a residency program, which typically takes 2 to 6 years of additional training
• must pass comparable state licensing examinations
• are equal in the eyes of the law
• practice in fully accredited hospitals and medical centers
• can order medical tests and procedures
• must maintain a prescribed level of continuing education units (CEUs) to remain certified

Currently, there are more than 41,000 osteopathic physicians in practice in the United States. That's approximately 5% of the total number of physicians. Because osteopathic schools emphasize primary care training, more than half of all DOs practice in areas such as pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, and internal medicine. Each year, 100 million patient visits are made to DOs.