Hawaii | Holistic Medicine Providers by City

HAWAII CITIES

• Honolulu

• Kailua

• Captain Cook

• Waipahu

• Kihei

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is the therapeutic application 

of manually guided forces by an osteopathic physician (U.S. usage) to 

improve physiologic function and/or support homeostasis that has been 

altered by somatic dysfunction.[18] Somatic dysfunction is defined as 

impaired or altered function of related components of the somatic (body 

framework) system: skeletal, arthrodial and myofascial structures and 

their related vascular, lymphatic and neural elements. Acute somatic 

dysfunction is an immediate or short-term impairment or altered function 

of related components of the somatic(body) framework. It is 

characterized in early stages by vasodilation, edema, tenderness, pain 

and tissue contraction. It is diagnosed by history and palpatory 

assessment of tenderness, asymmetry of motion and relative position, 

restriction of motion and tissue texture change.[19] Chronic somatic 

dysfunction is the impairment or altered function of related components 

of the somatic (body framework) system. It may be characterized by 

tenderness, itching, fibrosis, paresthesias and tissue contraction.[19]

While there are many treatment techniques, OMT methods utilized may 

broadly be classified as active or passive and direct or indirect in nature.

Active Method: A technique in which the person voluntarily performs 

an osteopathic practitioner-directed motion.[18]

Passive Method: Based on techniques in which the patient refrains from 

voluntary muscle contraction.[20]

Direct Method (D/DIR): An osteopathic treatment strategy by which 

the restrictive barrier is engaged and a final activating force is applied 

to correct somatic dysfunction.[21]

Indirect Method (I/IND): A manipulative technique where the restrictive 

barrier is disengaged and the dysfunctional body part is moved away 

from the restrictive barrier until tissue tension is equal in one or all 

planes and directions.

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