An introduction to clinical research in osteopathic medicine.

Osteopathic medicine is a profession that has existed for more than 130 years. However, the profession is poorly understood by many health care professionals. This article introduces osteopathic medicine, including similarities and differences between osteopathic physicians (DOs) and allopathic physicians (MDs). It describes osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), including the risks and many of the challenges faced while doing clinical research on OMT. Finally, the article reviews the research that has evaluated the effect of OMT on various medical conditions, including musculoskeletal, neurologic, respiratory, obstetric, gynecologic, and pediatric conditions.