There are two pathways one can take to obtain a full medical license in the United States, which is to become an MD or a DO.

DOs go to 4 years of medical school and then their respective residencies, which share the training program with that of MDs. They have additional training in medical school, where they learn hands-on manipulation skills, Osteopathic philosophy, and advanced anatomy. DOs have full practice rights in all 50 states. Today, they make up over 1/3 of physicians in America.

Osteopaths can be found all over the world. However, in other countries an Osteopath may be more likened to a physical therapist. They are distinguishable in American as full medically licensed physicians.

It can be standard for the treatment of an adult to take anywhere between 30 minutes to one hour given that we are addressing the accumulation of traumas present in the body over time. For infants, as there isn’t time for as much accumulation of trauma, the treatments are typically much shorter. They run between 15-30 minutes, and could even be as short as 5 minutes.

The short answer: Everyone will benefit in some way from an Osteopathic adjustment, because when we optimize structure, we optimize function. The list of ailments that Osteopathic manipulation of (OMT) can help with is too long to write out. It all goes back to foundation. If your body is aligned and nourished, greater health is the outcome.

Treatment for children doesn’t typically prompt more than just a couple pounds of light force and is very well-tolerated. Sometimes babies do cry during a treatment. I believe this to be more related to how sensitive they are with detecting changes in their own bodies and their response being crying, rather than actual pain.

The techniques used by Dr. Echeverria are very gentle and are easily tolerated by newborn babies and elderly people alike.

This is a generalized answer because I recognize that just as there is great diversity in the ways that a DO may practice medicine, the same is true for chiropractors. The popping and cracking that people associate with chiropractors is originally an Osteopathic technique called HVLA. The chiropractic model primarily focused on using this technique specifically aimed at treating the spine. Osteopathy has about 10 other techniques that are used in addition to HVLA.

Cranial Osteopathy is typically taught to DOs and some dentists, while craniosacral therapy is a certificate that can be obtained by massage therapists. Craniosacral therapy based its curriculum from Cranial Osteopathy.