| |
Restore Balance and
Musculoskeletal well being.
Richard L. Van Buskirk, D.O., Ph.D.
2900 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 924-1729
Dr. Van
Buskirk is credited with recovering and redeveloping the original
osteopathic manipulative method used by the founder of Osteopathic
Medicine, Andrew Taylor Still, M.D.
|
|
 |
|
Osteopathy: What’s old is new again
As appeared in the Longboat
Observer
February 17, 2010
by: Molly Schechter | Contributing Writer
If someone were to invent osteopathic medicine today, it would be
launched with much brouhaha as the newest in holistic, mind-body
healing.
Dr. Andrew Taylor Still would become an instant celebrity, much in
demand for appearances on morning and late-night TV shows. He would
explain how his philosophy was based on ideas that date back to
Hippocrates and focus on the unity of all body parts. He would say
the musculoskeletal system was a key element of health and place
much emphasis on the body’s ability to heal itself. Finally, he
would stress preventive medicine, proper eating and keeping fit.
Though it sounds startlingly contemporary, Still actually introduced
osteopathic medicine more than 100 years ago in the late 1800s. A
couple of years later, he began to teach it, and he founded the
first college of osteopathic medicine.
Today, there are about 55,000 osteopathic physicians, known as
doctors of osteopathy, or D.O.s, in the United States.
Seeking a better understanding of osteopathic medicine, I recently
interviewed Dr. Richard Van Buskirk, a Sarasota-based doctor of
osteopathy.
What is osteopathy?
Osteopathic medicine is an American-born medical profession dating
to the late-19th century when a Midwestern doctor wanted to do
something for patients besides poison them, addict them or cut
things off. Still created osteopathy as an option to medicine as it
was then being practiced. He believed that if he could help people
find musculoskeletal balance and harmony, they could do a better job
of healing themselves.
All osteopathic medical students receive additional training in
musculoskeletal manipulative medicine that is not included in the
M.D. curriculum. Otherwise, the educations differ little.
In recruiting students, the osteopathic medical schools may place
slightly less emphasis on scores and grades and more on commitment
to helping people heal. Some 60% of osteopathic students do M.D.
residencies (in mixed-staff hospitals), because there simply are not
enough osteopathic hospitals to accommodate them. In terms of
education, it is difficult to distinguish D.O.s from M.D.s.
Typically, people see D.O.s for musculoskeletal pain or restriction
or because they’ve been told they need surgery and want to explore a
second opinion. Oftentime, people who are on narcotics for pain
management are looking for an alternative.
Two things emerge as the major differences between conventional and
osteopathic medicine.
The first is obviously focus on the musculoskeletal system — the
bones, muscles, ligaments and other connective tissue that are the
body’s architecture and mechanical engineering.
All of that accounts for 80% of the body by weight and volume, and
it surrounds and interacts with all the other systems — circulation,
respiration, digestion, etc. A key premise of osteopathy is that
something out of balance in the musculoskeletal system can be a
component, if not the exclusive cause, of a problem elsewhere. This
gives the osteopathic physician a different and perhaps broader
perspective on the symptoms with which he is presented.
A second differentiation is a broader view of the patient’s overall
health, one that includes not just musculoskeletal balance but also
mental, emotional and even spiritual aspects, and encompasses a
belief that the body wants to heal.
Osteopathic treatment plans often include weight loss,
movement-based therapies, including yoga, nutrition and other
lifestyle modifications.
Musculoskeletal manipulation has been part of osteopathy from the
start. Still developed what is now known as The Still Technique. His
gentle, non-traumatic and specific method was one of seven or eight
that were in use by the end of the century. Its popularity waned
around 1920 because it required so much time and skill to practice.
But until the 1980s, virtually all D.O.s did some form of
musculoskeletal manipulation as part of their practice, regardless
of specialty.
Manipulation declines
According to Van Buskirk, the use of manipulation has fallen off
since then because it is physically demanding to do and because of
the desire of D.O.s to be like M.D.s. Van Buskirk was instrumental
in the rediscovery and redevelopment of the Still Technique, and his
book on it has become the primary teaching text.
Van Buskirk went to medical school at age 36 when he already had a
Ph.D. and was a professor of physiology. Because of his academic
background, he is sought after as a diagnostician and often sees
difficult cases — patients who have had surgery that didn’t work or
are worried whether they need a surgery. “Most of the time,” he
says, “they don’t.”
A sign that osteopathic medicine has found its way into the
mainstream is that mainstream medicine is embracing many holistic,
osteopathic concepts.
DR. RICHARD VAN BUSKIRK LECTURES IN
JAPAN
SARASOTA, FL
(August 5, 2009) – Licensed physician Richard Van Buskirk, DO,
PhD, FAAO, recently returned from Tokyo, Japan, where he presented
a course to Japanese medical doctors and osteopaths. The three-day
course focused on the Still Technique, the osteopathic
manipulative method originally used by the founder of osteopathic
medicine, Andrew Taylor Still, MD.
Dr. Van Buskirk was
invited to teach the course by the All Japan Osteopathic
Association. The professional association has sponsored courses by
American osteopathic physicians who are considered masters in the
area of musculoskeletal medicine. This is the third time Dr. Van
Buskirk has lectured in Japan because of the popularity of the
Still Technique among Japanese physicians and osteopaths and
because of the release of the Japanese second edition of his text,
The Still Technique Manual.
Dr. Van Buskirk is credited with recovering and redeveloping the
Still Technique, considered lost for more than 80 years.
Through the use of
non-invasive methods, Dr. Van Buskirk seeks to restore the
balance, flexibility, strength and energy efficiency inherent in
the human body. He also uses lifestyle modifications, exercise,
stretching, medications and injections to restore neural and
musculoskeletal health. He recently moved his practice, the
Sarasota Osteopathic Medical Association, to a new location at
2900 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
##
READ THE ONLINE VERSION
RECLAIMING
THEIR HERITAGE
Sarasota’s Dr. Van Buskirk Re-Elected
AAO Governor
Promotes “Going Back to Osteopathic Roots”
SARASOTA, FL
– Licensed physician Richard Van Buskirk,
DO, PhD,
FAAO,
has been re-elected to the
Board of Governors of the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO).
Along with the daily delivery of
medical care to his patients, Dr. Van Buskirk’s mission is to
bring back “old-fashioned osteopathy” and the techniques of its
founder, Andrew Taylor Still, MD
– considered to have been lost for more than 80 years.
Dr. Van Buskirk is credited with
recovering and redeveloping Dr. Still’s original osteopathic
manipulative method. A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and
specialist in neuromusculoskeletal medicine, he published a book
on the Still Technique, now in its second edition, and teaches
around the world, including Europe, Canada and Japan.
Ironically, while the number of DOs is increasing, the number of
DOs practicing traditional manipulative osteopathy is decreasing.
“When I graduated in 1987, there were about 30,000 active DOs in
the U.S., of whom 5,000 were practicing osteopathic manipulation,”
he remembers. “Today there are about 60,000 DOs with active
licenses, but only 2,000 practice osteopathic manipulation.” Of
the 70 or so DOs in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, only Dr. Van
Buskirk practices the Still Technique.
Because his specialty has been
disappearing, his patients travel far and wide to see him,
primarily from Tarpon Springs to Marco Island. Some have traveled
from other states and Canada.
THE KEEPER OF
THE FLAME
The American School of Osteopathy was born in 1892 when founder
Dr. Still became disillusioned with late 19th Century
medicine, observing that “all we can do is poison people, addict
them, or cut things off.” He discovered that if he performed
musculoskeletal manipulation, it improved his patients’ ability to
heal on their own.
The original focus of osteopathic medicine was to provide medical
care for the whole person. Osteopaths focused on the interaction
of all parts of the body while understanding the individual organs
in detail. Treatment of musculoskeletal problems included the use
of manipulation, as well as use of medication and surgery where
appropriate. Up until the 1970s, virtually all osteopathic
physicians continued to include osteopathic manipulation as part
of their treatment of most patients.
However – to counteract resistance from the traditional medical
establishment – the osteopathic profession moved toward developing
parity with MDs, and
"in the process we lost our
identity,” Dr. Van Buskirk says. Today,
DOs are almost indistinguishable from MDs. Except for courses in
musculoskeletal diagnosis and treatment, the training of
osteopathic physicians is virtually identical to that of MDs. Most
patients don’t even know there is a difference.
Traditional musculoskeletal medicine survives as a specialty in
the osteopathic profession, with residency training and board
certification.
Specialists like Dr. Van Buskirk focus on detailed diagnosis and
treatment of musculoskeletal problems, including related vascular
and neurological issues.
The Still Technique is one of about ten musculoskeletal
manipulative methods that have been developed by the osteopathic
profession over the past 117 years. All DOs are taught at least
some of these methods during their first two years of medical
school. However, most are out of practice and are not comfortable
performing it on their patients, so they do not include it in
their practices.
The AAO is “the keeper of the flame,” Dr. Van Buskirk says. “Our
mission is to go back to our heritage – to keep old-fashioned
osteopathy alive. The musculoskeletal system is more than 80
percent of the body by mass and volume. Rather than relegating it
to a minor role in medicine, it needs to be evaluated and treated
with at least the same attention to detail as other systems.
The AAO promotes research and teaching, and sponsors courses for
MDs and DOs. This is Dr. Van Buskirk’s 10th year on
the board.
Dr. Van Buskirk has been practicing in Sarasota for 19 years,
starting out in family practice and becoming more specialized as
his practice evolved. He recently moved to a new location at 2900
S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, giving him the opportunity to
associate with an acupuncturist and a clinical psychologist, also
on the premises.
##
Richard l. Van Buskirk, D.o., Phd, faao
RE-ELECTED AS GOVERNOR
OF
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY
OF OSTEOPATHY
Little Rock, Arkansas, March 27,
2009 – Richard L. Van Buskirk, D.O., FAAO has re-assumed the office
of Governor of the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO).
Dr. Van Buskirk is a 1987 graduate of the West Virginia School of
Osteopathic Medicine. He received his PhD from Duke University in
Neuroscience in 1976 and taught and did basic science research for a
number of years before matriculating at WVSOM. After graduating from
WVSOM, he did an osteopathic family practice residency. He has been
in private practice and in 1997 was accorded the honor of becoming a
Fellow in the AAO. He has published frequently, including JAOA
articles on "Nociception and the somatic dysfunction" in 1990 and
more recently an article describing a rediscovered manipulative
technique of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. Dr. Van Buskirk was a
section-editor and author for the Osteopathic textbook project,
Foundations for Osteopathic Medicine. He has recently published a
book, The Still Technique Manual through the AAO and has taught
courses in the US and internationally.
##
RICHARD L. VAN BUSKIRK, DO, PhD, FAAO PRESENTS STILL TECHNIQUE
COURSE AT THE NEW JERSEY SCHOOL OF
OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
Stratford New Jersey, May 19, 2009 -
Richard L. Van Buskirk, DO, FAAO presented a 20-hour course to
American Physicians at the New Jersey School of Osteopathic
Medicine.
Richard
L. Van Buskirk, DO, PhD, FAAO presented a 20 hour course to American
physicians (MD’s and DO’s) at the New Jersey School of Osteopathic
Medicine, UMDNJ in Stratford, New Jersey May 15-17, 2009. The
course, sponsored by UMDNJ and the American Academy of Osteopathy,
was focused on the use of the Still Technique, a musculoskeletal
manipulative method rediscovered and redeveloped by Dr. Van Buskirk
after being lost for more than 80 years. The Still Technique was the
original osteopathic manipulative method used and taught by the
founder of Osteopathic Medicine, Andrew Taylor Still, MD.
##
|
|
