It seems like most skeptics/debunkers consider chiropractors be be quacks and AMA Docs to be the real deal. Where do you guys put osteopaths on this scale of 0-10?
The State of California seems to think that they are legitimate enough to deserve their own medical board and regulations. I trust their judgment on this matter.
Did the OP perhaps mean homeopaths?
In the USA & Canada Osteopaths are actually Oseteopathic physicians with equivalent ability to MDs.
In the rest of the world Osteopaths are NOT the same as Osteopaths in the US and Canada.
So part of the answer depends on the OP location. An Osteopath in NZ or the UK is not the same as an Osteopath in the USA. So it’s a bit confusing.
Osteopathic physicians are basically the same as MDs. Outside of the USA and Canada, Osteopaths are looked on similarly to as Chiropractors as being an alternative medicine
I live in the US, and have been to a few osteopaths. They’ve told me that they are trained to treat the whole patient more than MDs are. I’ll go to an MD or DO, but I will run (OK, I’ll waddle quickly) as fast as I can from a homeopath.
I’m also very comfortable with seeing a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner for routine medical needs. Most of them know when they need to refer me to a doctor.
I’ve been to an U.S. osteopathic Doctor. He was an M.D. Orthopedist with an additional D.O. and I had nothing but respect for and from him. He used some techniques that were unusual, like exercises to strengthen one side of my leg more than the other (so I would not limp as badly), and shockingly that did help my situation. He also used (primarily used, actually) the normal diagnostic and treatment procedures. He did not “crack” my back or “realign” anything by manual manipulation. I think that the alignment of muscle and bone can be significant to joint injury. That only makes sense. The Chiropractic idea that everything is related to spinal alignment and required hands-on external manipulation is something completely different. There’s such a difference between an Osteopathic Medical Doctor and an “osteopath” or a “chiropractor” that it’s like comparing apples and oranges.
They’re still doctors, it’s just the name of the degree. M.D. or D.O. In Colorado they have identical licensing qualifications, are admitted into the same residency programs, etc.
An orthopedist can be either an M.D. or a D.O., as either one can go through the additional training for that (or any other) specialty.
For that matter, chiropractors can be legitimate, too. The problem is just that there’s no certification process required to call oneself a chiropractor, so there’s no ready way to tell the handful of legitimate ones from the many, many quacks.
Osteopaths often make fine physicians, in my book. In the past, I’ve chosen 2 different DOs to be my personal physicians at different times.
Of course, some osteopaths are real nutjobs.
But then so are some allopaths.
QtM, MD
A friend of mine considered himself a “scientific chiropractor”. He treated musculoskeletal back and neck complaints with manipulation, rejected the D.D. Palmer theory of Chiropracty, and was hated by most other chiropractors.
Related question: In general what does the scientific/medical community think of “osteopathic manipulation?”
I had an osteopath as my GP until very recently, and I had no issue whatsoever with most of her suggestions and treatments. The only problem was that she kept recommending “osteopathic manipulation” – first as a fix for depression, and then later as a fix for an ongoing shoulder problem I’d been having. The osteopathic manipulation did jack squat for either problem, but she seemed to think that this was normal and told me that I’d need to come back for several treatments. (I didn’t. I saw a psychiatrist for the depression and an orthopedic specialist for the shoulder.) Now I’m wondering if I got taken in by quackery.
In the United States, the educational requirements for the DO degree include all the educational requirements for the MD degree. They also take a little more education on osteopathic techniques.
There might be a slight difference in philosophies, but a DO knows just as much, if not more, than an MD.
I have avoided DOs that use manipulation for anything other than short-term treatment of musculo-skeletal complaints. The DOs I respected most don’t do much manipulation, frankly.
Yeah, the alarm bells really went off for me when she suggested it for depression. It seemed to be her go-to treatment. Thanks, QtM. I’ve switched to an MD in the same practice and am much happier now.
Probably worth a read. My take from that is a fair bit of osteopathy is looking a bit dubious as a concept these days and the main thing Osteopaths can offer in the US is a medical degree, but with potentially more concerns about thier quality of education.
So Id stick with a doctor myself.
Otara
In the US osteopaths ARE doctors.
Like MD’s, there are varying level of competency among DO’s.
My reading suggests that Osteopaths receive pretty much the same education as MDs these days, but choose to self-identify as Osteopaths. Seems to be kind of a woo woo thing because “traditonal western medicine” seems to not be in vouge among some groups. I don’t think I’d be comfortable seeing one, but a Birkenstock wearer might be.
I was surprised that you used that term. I’ve only seen/heard it used by advocates and practitioners of homeopathy and similar nonsense.
I and my two sisters were delivered by an Osteopath. My older brother was an Army brat, and in the late 50s, that meant the mother was sedated and woken back up and handed a baby. My Mom didn’t want that experience again. Dr. Pickering used hypnosis instead of drugs, working with her during pregnancy implanting the suggestion that she would feel no pain in childbirth and that it would be a beautiful experience. According to her, that was exactly what it was - no drugs and no pain.