Have You Heard of OMT?

Sometimes, you just don’t feel well. Maybe there isn’t a diagnosis or one that requires a lot of attention – but you still are not yourself. Then, there are times that you have a diagnosis, and you just want it to improve.

The physician residents at the Family Medicine Continuity Clinic located in the Medical Arts Building in DuBois across from Penn Highlands DuBois West may just have an answer for those times. Residents are fully-trained physicians who have finished their schooling and have graduated as an osteopathic medicine physician. They need to perform three years or more of on-the-job-training known as residency. Residency programs are completed under the supervision of attending physicians and must be done before obtaining a state license to practice medicine on one’s own.

The residents are now offering OMT as an alternative or in addition to other treatments. OMT is short for osteopathic manipulative treatment, and it is something our Resident Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine are trained in!

“For any medical condition, osteopathic physicians, Dos, understand that each individual is different,” said Dr. Christina McGuirk, resident. “Just because a patient isn’t diagnosed with a disease, doesn’t mean he or she is in great health.”

“DOs are trained to recognize changes in body structure that alter its function,” she said. “In addition to managing medical conditions with pills or surgery, DOs are trained in OMT.”

OMT is the application of manual therapy techniques to address the changes in body. They can range from a gentle massage to high-pressure or rapid, forceful manipulation. Applying OMT to muscles, joints and other tissues allows the body to achieve a state of health more quickly and easily.

Who can benefit? People of all ages! “Newborns and up can benefit from OMT,” McGuirk said. “OMT can be helpful in a wide range of clinical conditions, from alleviating pain to shortening hospital recovery time, improving childhood asthma and infant colic.”

OMT also can help patients with a vast number of other health problems such as:
• Ear and sinus disorders
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Migraines
• Menstrual pain
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Low back pain

OMT is available at Penn Highlands Healthcare at the Penn Highlands Family Medicine Continuity Clinic, or FMCC. Though the office is a typical physician practice – seeing patients for primary care – those who receive primary care anywhere are welcome to just have OMT.

Most insurances cover OMT, and referrals are usually not needed. To make an appointment, call 814-503-4305.