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Patient Issues Author: Staff Editor Last Updated: Sep 7, 2017 - 10:06:33 PM



Osteopathic Treatments Help Patients in Pain

By Staff Editor
Jan 13, 2012 - 10:28:18 AM



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Some patients can avoid prescription painkillers

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Old Westbury, N.Y. ─ With the alarming rise of prescription painkiller abuse, NYIT’s medical experts say osteopathic manipulation treatment (OMT) can go a long way toward relieving pain and addressing the underlying problems that cause it.

“Many of our patients have found that osteopathic manipulation eases their pain and helps them heal,” says Dr. Sheldon Yao, assistant professor at NYIT’s New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM). “Medications have a role in pain management, but I need to examine the patient first and see if we can maximize the body’s own healing potential.”

By looking for relationships between bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and a person’s overall posture, osteopathic physicians help the body correct mechanical problems, and in some cases, can eliminate the need for strong medications, he says.

Several high-profile murders, allegedly committed by those seeking oxycodone, have led to increasing scrutiny of painkiller prescriptions. The New York State attorney general’s office this week reported that prescriptions rose by 82% in just three years from 2007 to 2010.

“Pain can become all-consuming and affects relationships and a person’s ability to work,” says Dr. Wolfgang Gilliar, professor and chairman at NYIT. “The cost is just too great to society and we need to take a good look at what we can do as medical professionals. There is not one pill or magic bullet that will cure the pain – but there are options.”

Osteopathic physicians initially diagnose a problem and then use certain maneuvers to improve range of motion and balance tissues and muscle mechanics -- with the goal of breaking pain cycles. Gilliar noted a recent patient with foot and toe pain avoided surgery after osteopathic manipulations corrected problems in her knee, hip, and lower back. The patient saw a marked decrease in pain, was able to wear regular shoes, and remained on her job.

“By employing very specific osteopathic examination routines, I gain information that an MRI or CT-scan just cannot give me and this guides my treatment,” Yao says.

At NYCOM, first-year medical students immediately begin training in osteopathic manipulative medicine with intense coursework and labs about each body system. More than 1,300 NYCOM graduates practice on Long Island.

“In a way I see my role as a detective and engineer: I will need to find out things that 'connect' to the problem and then see how through ‘fine-tuning’ of the various tissues, I can bring about a smooth functioning," Gilliar says. "Better function typically means less pain.”

About Osteopathic Physicians
Osteopathic physicians attend four years of medical school and practice in all fields of medicine. The majority provide care in family medicine, but osteopathic practitioners practice in all specialties ranging from emergency medicine to pediatrics to psychiatry and orthopedics. They are trained to treat the body as a unit and to address the body’s structural problems that are associated with many conditions, from neck and low back pain, shoulder and hip pain, as well as other symptoms. Osteopathic physicians are also able to prescribe drugs.

Osteopathic medicine has developed many standard manipulation techniques and treatments, including soft tissue or lymphatic manipulative techniques or specific pain-location treatments to address specific painful areas.

About NYIT
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in more than 90 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has more than 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 89,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

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