Number of Osteopathic Physicians in US Up by 40 Percent since 2010

 

Osteopathic Physicians
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Former chiropractor Anthony Marsh, DC, has served as medical director at the Osteopathic Medicine, Pain and Rehabilitation Institute in New Jersey since 2011. Over the course of his career as a chiropractor and medical director, Anthony Marsh has become a member of numerous industry organizations, including the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and the American Osteopathic Association.

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) operates with a primary goal of furthering the capabilities and effectiveness of all osteopathic practitioners, an ethos that extends to the organization’s certification programs. As more individuals pursue careers in osteopathy, the demand for effective, innovative training continues to grow.

According to the latest physician census by the Federation of State Medical Boards, the number of licensed doctors of osteopathy rose from approximately 58,000 to 81,000, an increase of close to 40 percent. By comparison, the rate of increase for medical doctors over the same period was just 10 percent. Moreover, the AOA reports nearly 130,000 medical students are currently studying osteopathic medicine in the United States.

Osteopathic Medicine – a Whole Body, Preventive Approach to Care

 

Osteopathic Medicine
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A former chiropractor who now practices as a medical doctor, Anthony Marsh, DO, DC, maintains a successful New Jersey pain and rehabilitation practice. A core area in which Anthony Marsh, DO, DC, applies knowledge as a chiropractor is in osteopathic medicine, the discipline that rests on the theory that musculoskeletal-system disturbances often effect areas throughout the body.

Doctors of osteopathic medicine take a “whole person” view when treating patients, instead of only focusing on specific symptoms. They evaluate the interconnected systems within the body and when appropriate emphasize treatment of the muscles and bones that make up approximately two-thirds of the mass of the body.

Trained as generalists first and secondarily as specialists, DOs are, like allopathic physicians (MDs), licensed to perform surgery and prescribe medicine. The medical education pursued by DOs extends to residencies of as long as six years and includes primary care disciplines such as internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology. The osteopathic curriculum is one that places a strong emphasis on preventive medicine and maintaining health and life balance well before serious illness strikes.

AOA States That Reducing Sugar Intake Improves Metabolic Function

 

Metabolic Function
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A graduate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the University of Oxford, Anthony Marsh, DO, DC, a former chiropractor, oversees operations at the Osteopathic Medicine, Pain and Rehabilitation Institute as medical director. Dedicated to staying abreast of changes within the field, Anthony Marsh belongs to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

The AOA, an organization dedicated to promoting public health and scientific research, recently published a review about overweight individuals and sugar in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA). This review revealed that children and adults who are overweight become significantly healthier when they reduce their sugar intake for at least two weeks. Further, this boost in health was not associated with weight loss and instead related to improvements in metabolic function.

According to the JAOA review, high consumption of sugar fructose increases fat synthesis in the liver and puts individuals more at risk of becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease. This is likely due to the fact that 90 percent of fructose is metabolized in the liver. Compared to glucose, which metabolizes only 20 percent in the liver, fructose also converts to fat up to nearly 19 times faster, thus adding weight to the body.

Prior to this study, many physicians advised that their patients completely change their diet and start exercising to address problems with obesity. Unfortunately, this approach has not been very successful, as evidenced by the obesity epidemic’s continued growth. Instead, the current study suggests that patients simply reduce their sugar intake to start enjoying health benefits.