About 1 in 4 medical students in America is studying to earn their doctor of osteopathy degree, which is comparable to a traditional MD degree. The school of medicine educating the next generation of DO’s has a long history of more than 100 years and, in fact, has a few parallels to the school of chiropractic medicine, so keep reading to understand What's osteopath vs Chiropractor.
The next time you’re back pain flares up, would you go to an osteopath or a chiropractor? Let’s compare Osteopaths vs Chiropractors: we will dig into what these two lines of medicine are, their histories, and where they differ.
Osteopathy is a branch of medicine in the US that focuses on full-body holistic health and wellness by emphasizing how the body’s systems are connected and need to work together in order to maintain health.
Similar to an MD, a doctor of osteopathy—known as a DO—attends medical school and is a fully-licensed physician who can specialize in any area, perform surgeries, work in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and more.
What's osteopath? Osteopathy was founded in America by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, a physician who didn’t agree with the contemporaneous practices of bloodletting, blistering, treatments with mercury, etc. He believed that most ailments could be treated without the use of drugs; this curiosity, grounded in Still’s anatomical studies, lead to him exploring how medical conditions could be treated with a more natural healing process.
Eventually, Dr. Still would open the first osteopathic medical practice and found the first school of osteopathic medicine; here’s a brief timeline of the development of this medical thought from founding to the present day:
The word “chiropractic” derives from the Greek words cheir, meaning “hand”, and praktos, meaning “done”, in essence, “done by hand”. While manual wellness treatments have traditions spanning millennia, the particular profession of chiropractic medicine didn’t take shape until the late 1800s in America.
The birth of chiropractic medicine as we know it today is attributed to Daniel David Palmer, who had a background in magnetic healing and phrenology, or the study of diagnosing illnesses by the bumps on a person’s skull. Due to his dubious attitude toward traditional medical practices in his time, Palmer began experimenting on treating ailments through the manipulation of the spine.
Akin to Still and the birth of osteopathic medicine, Palmer believed that the human body was one organism that needed all parts to function properly for good health; Palmer felt that the origin of good health lay in the spine.
Let’s look at a brief timeline of how chiropractic medicine has developed over the last hundred years:
Now that we’ve explored what's osteopath medicine shares some parallels with chiropractic medicine over the course of each practice’s history, let’s flesh out a couple of their differences, particularly in terms of training and treatment intentions.
To be clear, both what's osteopath osteopathy and chiropractic medicines require specialized training and education.
Although not medical doctors, chiropractors require at least 7 years of specialized schooling, credentials, and a state license in order to practice and become a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine. Chiropractors cannot write prescriptions or perform surgeries, unlike those who hold Doctor of Osteopathy degrees; DO school requires several years of medical school and residency experience.
Visiting a chiropractor is probably your best method of treatment for alleviating pain caused by a car accident or a fall, especially if the pain is located in your lower back. Same if you find yourself waking up with pain or discomfort after sleeping in the wrong position or if you suffer from chronic back pain, leg pain, or neck pain.
On the other hand, if you ask what's osteopath medicine, it route is best for holistic ailments ranging from infertility, digestive problems, the common cold, and more. Basically, anything you would see a traditional MD for, an osteopath can just as well treat you. Plus, due to their holistic approach to comprehensive medicine, a DO can refer you to a chiropractor when needed.
With decades of experience dealing with a broad range of medical billing issues for all kinds of holistic practices, the team at HBS has seen just about every kind of medical billing mistake that an organization can make. That’s why our clients trust us to help them manage their insurance claims to ensure they’ll be accepted as clean claims on the first attempt, avoiding lengthy back and forth negotiations with the insurance company. And best of all, you’ll avoid the scrutiny of federal and state auditors.
Contact us today to learn about Holistic Billing Services medical insurance billing services and find out how we can help you maximize your revenue!
At Holbie, we offer complete and innovative Holistic Billing Services for acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic providers.
At Holbie, we offer complete and innovative Holistic Billing Services for acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic providers.
2024 ©. Holbie, Holistic Billing Services. All Rights Reserved.