Osteopath, Chiropractor and Physical Therapist

摘要

FS: In the military, we have a wide variety of medical providers that use hands-on techniques such as stretching, gentle pressure and resistance in order to diagnose, treat and prevent illness and injury. These include osteopaths, chiropractors and physical therapists.Osteopaths are licensed physicians who hold a four-year medical degree of Doctor of Osteopathy and bear a "DO" after their name. This degree is earned after completing a bachelor's degree. As with their "MD" physician colleagues, DOs have the broadest scope of practice of the medical practitioners discussed here. Both DOs and MDs generally have additional residency training beyond their medical school education and are board certified in a specialty such as family medicine, general surgery, aerospace medicine, etc. Chiropractors are designated by a "DC" for a Doctor of Chiropractic degree that is approximately 3-4 years in length after completing a bachelor's degree. Physical therapists may have earned a DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) or an MPT (Masters in Physical Therapy) degree after completing college. Though chiropractors and physical therapists can decide to train further in a subspecialty, it isn't required. Unlike DOs, DCs and DPTs are not licensed to practice in all areas of medicine, are not permitted to write for prescription medications or perform surgical procedures and focus almost exclusively on musculoskeletal concerns.