President Trump's personal physician is a doctor of osteopathy. What exactly does that mean?

Dr. Sean Conley was appointed as the chief physician to the president in 2018, and now as the lead physician he's been thrown into the spotlight after President Trump contracted coronavirus. So far, he's treated the president with an experimental treatment that has him on his feet and back at work, but it's the fact he's a "DO" and not an "MD" that has everybody talking.

"Osteopathic doctors are required to complete additional coursework to understand how the body’s bones, muscles and nerves affect overall functioning and health, and they sometimes use manual techniques for diagnosis and treatment, such as applying pressure to or stretching out joints and muscles. They can also prescribe medicine," according to the New York Times

Dr. Richard Chmielewski, who was recently published in the Academy of Osteopathy, founded the Falcon Clinic in Washington Mills, which is an osteopathic clinic in the Utica area. Chmielewski told WIBX's Keeler Show that not only is President Trump's physician a DO, but so is Joe Biden's head doctor. Chmielewski says that the osteopathic approach to a person's health needs pays careful attention to the body, mind and spirit. "We do everything that MDs do, but we have an additional 300 to 400 extra hours of training and musculo skeletal hands on treatment."

"Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, or DOs, are fully licensed physicians who practice their unique whole-person approach in every medical specialty," according to osteopathic.org. "DOs look beyond your symptoms to understand how lifestyle and environmental factors impact your wellbeing, and complete extensive postgraduate and clinical training before becoming fully licensed physicians."

Dr. Chmielewski says that about 25% of med students today are studying at osteopathic medical schools. In his article published in the Academy of Osteopathy, he writes about how osteopathic strategies are being used to successfully treat COVID-19 patients, like President Trump. He added that there's plenty of documented evidence of osteopathic success in 1918 with the Spanish Flu pandemic.

The New York Times story published on October 3rd, said osteopathic doctors are "trained to look at the body and its care holistically rather than just prescribing medicine for specific symptoms or illnesses." According to Dr. Chmielewski, often times an osteopathic strategy with a person's illness could lead to less, or even no prescription drugs. He said the manipulation technique is used successfully in "treatments of acute and chronic musculoskeletal problems, including diseases such as fibromyalgia, and neck and back problems."

Watch Dr. Chmielewski's interview on the Keeler Show from Thursday, October 8th.

 

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