Osteopathic medicine is based on the idea that all the body’s systems are interrelated. Osteopaths focus on treating the whole person. There are more than 114,000 osteopathic doctors in the U.S. And more than 1 in 4 U.S. medical students are on the path to becoming a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO).

Osteopathic medicine dates back more than 100 years. Its founder, Andrew Taylor Still, thought that correcting problems with the body’s structure could help the body heal itself. Still, who practiced during the Civil War, believed that spine problems can send nerve signals out to all the organs and make you sick. He developed osteopathic manipulation treatments  with a goal of restoring the nerves to a healthy state and promoting circulation so the body could heal itself.

One key idea in this field is that many diseases result from, or cause, problems within the body’s musculoskeletal system, which includes nerves, muscles, and bones. DOs pay extra attention to how all your body parts work together in order to prevent or treat health issues. And they get special training in that.

Osteopathic medicine is about your whole body, not just specific parts or symptoms. So if you come in with, say, knee pain, they’re likely going to look at more than your knee.

Osteopathic doctors believe touch can be healing. All DOs are trained in osteopathic manipulative treatment, sometimes called manual manipulation or OMT. That’s a hands-on method to help diagnose and treat illnesses. Not all DOs use it regularly in their practice, though.