Frequently Asked Questions

What is a D.O.?
What is Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment?
What special skills does an osteopath have?
What does it mean to treat from a Biodynamic perspective?
What can I expect to experience during a treatment?
How does it work?
Will I continue to benefit after a treatment?

A doctor of Osteopathy is a fully credentialed, licensed physician. Many go on to become family physicians, internists, pediatricians, surgeons, obstetricians, etc., just as their M.D. counterparts do. Dr Williams is board certified in both family practice and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). Dr. Williams is considered a Classical Osteopath because he bases his practice upon the original principles of osteopathy and, while schooled and experienced in conventional medicine, is true to the holistic origins of the osteopathic profession.

OMT is a hands-on physical form of medicine used for diagnosing and treating medical problems. It is an umbrella term used to describe the many hands-on techniques an osteopathic physician uses to bring the body into functional balance

While the healthcare Dr. Williams practices relies heavily on anatomy and medical science, it is his palpatory sensitivity (that is, the ability to use the hands to assess the state of health within the body) cultivated over years of osteopathic study and practice that sets him apart from other physicians. It is this combination of skilled palpation and comprehensive knowledge of the human body that makes him unique as a healthcare provider.

This should not be confused with other helpful hands-on modalities such as chiropractic, massage, or physical therapy. More than the alignment of bones, this is a discipline that pays primary attention to the deeper, subtler internal structure and motions of the bone, muscle, nerve, cerebral spinal fluid, reciprocal tension membranous system, and internal organs - individually and collectively - that signal the state of a patient's health.

Classical osteopaths are distinguished not only by their highly skilled palpation but also by the way they view and treat the human organism. Though most patients who seek care have specific complaints - perhaps an intractable headache they have had for years, or whiplash and low-back injuries from a car accident - the classical osteopath first looks for the Health that is already existing in the body before looking at what's wrong. The form and function of the body is viewed as a complete and intelligent unit rather than broken into parts like the low-back, neck, or head, etc.

Complementary to this perspective is the special consideration a classical osteopath gives to critical phenomena within the body: the intrinsic motion of the bones, the balance of the reciprocal forces within the body's fascial system, the motion of the fluid body, and the motility of the central nervous system. The ability to perceive these phenomena all at once to give a complete picture of the functioning of health is a vital aspect of the biodynamic treatment. The biodynamic perspective acknowledges that the state of a person's health is in constant motion itself, continuously evolving during the assessment and treatment of a patient.

Most patients enter a deep state of relaxation during a treatment. Inherent within an osteopathic treatment is what happens in that space of quiet: the heart rate slows, the blood pressure decreases, the muscles relax, and the nervous system finds its balance. The body is brought into "neutral," where there is a synchronizing of the its physiologic functions and a state of "tensionlessness" is experienced. From the osteopath, you can expect to experience his time, patience, and quiet focus as he facilitates this process.

From a mathematical perspective, in a state of balanced stillness, the body has limitless access to its physical and energetic resources in order to more fully express its original blueprint of health. Once there is a quieting of the system during treatment, the body is freed up to transition from a state of illness to a more functional condition.

The role of the osteopath in this process is that of a skilled detective studying the intrinsic structure and motions of an individual's body. Through observation, the osteopath uncovers primary lesions within the body and intelligently facilitates the transition as health reintegrates the system and brings the areas of imbalance, pain, and dysfunction, into harmonious balance. Over time, these lesions distinguish themselves less and less as areas of pain or dysfunctional conditions. Your body simply feels unencumbered by the distraction of illness or pain that originally brought you in for treatment.

Once your body has been brought into a state of balance through an osteopathic treatment, the inherent drive of your body to heal itself, to achieve a level of optimal function, continues. Treatment does not end once you leave the office. Health continues to unfold; oftentimes the fullest expression of a single treatment will happen days later.