Compassionate, Evidence-Based Healthcare in Shenyang
Osteopathic Medicine
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of medicine that looks beyond pain and symptoms to the underlying disease. Instead of merely looking at how to treat the symptoms or the disease with medicine, osteopathic medicine additionally examines the effect of the individual's musculoskeletal system, lifestyle, environment, mental health, and other areas of influence in order to treat the whole person instead of just a single part. While general medicine provides healthcare to individuals with a focus on treating conditions with medication, osteopathic medicine focuses on prevention and whole-body care with a special emphasis on diseases relating to the musculoskeletal system. Osteopathic doctors are licensed doctors and receive the same education as general practitioners, but in addition to the standard medical education, they receive hundreds of hours in specialized instruction on the musculoskeletal system: joints, ligaments, muscles, bones, and the treatment of this system. Osteopathic doctors might also specialize in different areas, such as family medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and even psychiatry.

According to the American Association of Colleges and Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), there are four principles to osteopathic medicine:
• "The body is a unit; the person is a unit of body, mind, and spirit.

• The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing and health maintenance.
• Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
• Rational treatment is based upon an understanding of the basic principles of body unity, self-regulation and the interrelationship of structure and function."
—    WHOLE PERSON CARE    —
An individual is a complex being that goes beyond just the physical structure of the body. As humans, we are also influenced by our mental health, spiritual health, environment, social situation, and lifestyle. By examining all of these areas and treating the whole person, osteopathic doctors are better able to aid in the prevention of many diseases and issues that can lead to physical symptoms.

An individual might come to their doctor with symptoms of shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, and headaches. While a general physician might diagnose high blood pressure and send the patient home with blood pressure medication, an osteopathic doctor might look at the greater picture. Perhaps the patient is under a tremendous amount of family or work stress, has neck pain that leads to additional high stress levels, is making unhealthy dietary choices, and struggles with obesity. By helping the patient with their neck pain through spinal manipulation and better posture, teaching the patient how to better manage their stress levels, providing the patient with information on healthier dietary decisions and exercises that lead to weight loss, the patient might be able to lower their blood pressure to the point that medication is no longer even necessary or they require a lower dose. This is the goal of a whole-person medical approach-to prevent issues leading to uncomfortable symptoms and possibly life-threatening diseases by treating the whole person.