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Advancing Whole Health Through
Osteopathic Education

Enhance your skills in osteopathic medicine.

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Our 
Story

Get to Know Us

Classic Osteopathic Care

Osteopathic Whole Health is grounded in the clinical and educational mission of Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency (LFMR), where whole-person, function-focused care is integrated into family medicine training and patient care. Our approach combines modern medical practice with osteopathic principles, hands-on evaluation, and osteopathic manipulative treatment to support healing, restore function, and improve quality of life.

At Osteopathic Whole Health and within LFMR, care is based on the understanding that the body functions as an interconnected whole, that structure and function are closely related, and that the body has inherent capacity for self-regulation and healing when barriers to health are addressed.

Our goals include:

  • Relief of pain and other symptoms

  • Improved mobility and physiologic function

  • Reduction of stress and body strain

  • Support of the body’s natural healing mechanisms

  • Prevention of recurrence through comprehensive whole-person care

LFMR has developed a strong osteopathic training environment in which osteopathic principles and manipulative treatment are actively incorporated into residency education and clinical care.

Osteopathic Manipulation

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​At Osteopathic Whole Health and Centra Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency, osteopathic manipulative treatment is used to evaluate and address somatic dysfunction, impaired mechanics, restricted motion, autonomic imbalance, respiratory compromise, and lymphatic congestion. Treatment is individualized and may include a broad range of osteopathic modalities used in clinical practice and residency training at LFMR.

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These modalities include:

  • Soft tissue techniques

  • Myofascial release

  • Muscle energy

  • Counterstrain

  • Facilitated positional release

  • Still technique

  • Balanced ligamentous tension

  • Articulatory techniques

  • High-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA)

  • Cranial osteopathic techniques

  • Lymphatic and splenic pump techniques

  • Rib raising

  • Suboccipital release

  • Thoracic inlet release

  • Diaphragm treatment

  • Sacral rocking

  • Pelvic diaphragm release

  • Mesenteric lift

  • Colonic stimulation

  • Venous sinus and other selected osteopathic functional techniques

These hands-on methods are selected based on the patient’s condition, structural findings, tolerance, and clinical goals. The aim is to improve motion, reduce pain, optimize neurologic and circulatory function, improve lymphatic flow, and support the body’s ability to heal.

PRINCIPLES OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
 

I. The body is an integral unit.

The body functions as a whole. Disturbance in one area may influence health elsewhere. For that reason, osteopathic care at Osteopathic Whole Health and Centra Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency considers the entire person rather than a single complaint in isolation.

II. The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance.

Osteopathic medicine recognizes the body’s natural capacity for repair and adaptation. Treatment is designed to support these processes by identifying and reducing impediments to health.

III. The circulatory and nervous systems are essential to health.

Adequate blood flow, lymphatic drainage, and neurologic balance are central to physiologic function. Osteopathic evaluation and treatment aim to reduce restriction that may impair these systems.

IV. The musculoskeletal system plays a central role in health and disease.

The musculoskeletal system affects posture, movement, circulation, respiration, autonomic balance, and pain. Dysfunction in muscles, fascia, joints, and related structures may contribute to illness and impaired recovery.

V. Rational treatment is based on these principles.

Osteopathic medicine emphasizes careful diagnosis of structural and functional relationships and thoughtful treatment of somatic dysfunction as part of comprehensive medical care.

OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE FAQS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is a DO?

A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) is a fully licensed physician who practices the full spectrum of medicine. DOs diagnose illness, prescribe medications, perform procedures, and work in every specialty. Osteopathic physicians also receive additional training in osteopathic principles and osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Are only DOs trained in osteopathic principles and OMT at LFMR?

No. While osteopathic medicine originates from the DO tradition, Centra Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency also trains MD residents in osteopathic principles and osteopathic manipulative treatment within its educational model. At LFMR, residents are taught to apply osteopathic concepts, palpatory diagnosis, and hands-on treatment techniques as part of patient-centered family medicine care.

What kinds of OMT are offered at LFMR?

At Centra Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency, patients may receive a wide range of osteopathic manipulative treatment techniques depending on their diagnosis, physical findings, and treatment goals. These include soft tissue, myofascial release, muscle energy, counterstrain, facilitated positional release, Still technique, balanced ligamentous tension, articulatory treatment, HVLA, cranial techniques, rib raising, thoracic inlet release, diaphragm treatment, lymphatic techniques, sacral rocking, pelvic diaphragm release, mesenteric lift, colonic stimulation, and other region-specific osteopathic methods.

What conditions can osteopathic care help address?

Osteopathic care may be helpful for many acute and chronic conditions, especially those involving pain, biomechanics, mobility, respiratory mechanics, recovery from injury, and functional impairment. It can also support broader whole-person care by addressing musculoskeletal, neurologic, respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic, and other physiologic contributors to symptoms.

What kinds of treatments do you use?

Treatment plans are individualized and may include osteopathic manipulative treatment, medical evaluation, lifestyle counseling, exercise or rehabilitation recommendations, and other supportive whole-health strategies.

What is your treatment approach?

We begin by listening carefully, understanding the patient’s history, symptoms, goals, and context, and then evaluating the patient as a whole person. From there, we build a plan intended to reduce dysfunction, restore function, and support long-term health.

What kinds of patients do you see?

Osteopathic Whole Health welcomes patients across the lifespan. This approach may benefit patients seeking care for pain, injury recovery, functional limitations, chronic symptoms, preventive care, or overall wellness support.

What do I wear for my treatment?

Patients should wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that allows ease of movement for examination and treatment. Many osteopathic visits can be performed with patients remaining comfortably clothed.

THE HISTORY OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
 

In the United States, there are two fully licensed physician degrees: MD and DO. Both diagnose disease, prescribe medications, perform procedures, and practice across the full range of medical specialties. Historically, formal osteopathic principles and manipulative treatment were core elements of DO education. At Centra Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency, that osteopathic educational framework is also extended to MD residents, who are trained alongside this model of whole-person care and osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Osteopathic medicine was founded by Andrew Taylor Still, who became dissatisfied with many of the ineffective medical practices of his era and developed a philosophy emphasizing the relationship of structure and function, the body’s capacity for self-healing, and rational, patient-centered treatment.

That foundation continues today through osteopathic physicians and through training environments such as Centra Lynchburg Family Medicine Residency, where osteopathic principles, OMT, and complementary office-based musculoskeletal treatment modalities remain active components of education, clinical practice, and whole-person family medicine care.

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Our Mission

Osteopathic Whole Health offers a comprehensive residency training program focusing on hands-on patient care, using videos and articles to support learning. Our mission is to enhance community engagement while fostering the core principles of osteopathic medicine.

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