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( Osteopathic medicine in the United States)
Founded as osteopathy by frontier physician Andrew Taylor Still as a radical rejection of the prevailing system of medical thought of the 19th century, the profession gradually moved closer to mainstream medicine in its practices, and came to be called "osteopathic medicine".[4] Today, the training of osteopathic physicians is virtually identical to that of their MD counterparts.[5] Osteopathic physicians use all conventional methods of diagnosis and treatment but are trained to place additional emphasis on the achievement of normal body mechanics as central to maintaining good health.[6] DO physicians receive training in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM), a form of manual therapy shown to be of benefit for patients with certain musculo-skeletal disorders.[7] However, this form of therapy is used by a minority of osteopathic physicians in actual practice.[8] In the United States, osteopathic medicine is considered by some both a profession and a social movement.[9][10] Although US osteopathic medical physicians currently may obtain licensure in 47 countries, osteopathic curricula in countries other than the United States differs. DOs outside the US are known as "osteopaths" and their scope of practice excludes usual medical therapies and relies more exclusively on osteopathic manipulative medicine and other alternative medical modalities. Discussions about the future of osteopathic medicine frequently debate the feasibility of maintaining distinctiveness within the broader US physician community. More recently, the topic of for-profit medical education has become an issue.[11]
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