Learn about osteopathic medicine and receive free treatments at open house

DES MOINES, IA (04/11/2013)(readMedia)-- In conjunction with National Osteopathic Medicine Week, Des Moines University osteopathic medical students will host their annual OMM Community Night on April 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Student Education Center, 3300 Grand Avenue.

Medical students will be on hand to discuss the benefits of osteopathic manual medicine (OMM) and provide free OMM treatments in the lab where they train. These treatments utilize full-body structural and muscular assessments that can relieve pain and improve health.

"The goal of osteopathic medicine is to look at the health of the body as a whole and not just the symptom being presented. Sometimes the symptom a patient is experiencing can be a result of a problem caused elsewhere in the body," explained Craig Schreiber, DMU osteopathic medical student and event co-organizer. "With OMM, physicians use their hands to discover and diagnose anomalies in the body to solve the dysfunction. It's another asset in the physician's tool bag of physical diagnosis."

OMM Community Night is free and open to all ages. In the past, DMU has demonstrated the hugely popular OMM treatments at the Iowa State Fair and at the finish line of local athletic events.

Osteopathic manual medicine is a unique tool that differentiates D.O.s from other health care providers. National Osteopathic Medicine (NOM) Week, celebrated April 14-20, celebrates the osteopathic medicine while raising awareness of OMM and D.O.s in communities across the country.

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Des Moines University is the only private medical school in Iowa, offering graduate-level, professional degree programs in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, health care administration, anatomy, biomedical sciences and public health. Founded in 1898, the institution offers superior academics in a collaborative environment. DMU students' pass rate on national examinations and board certifications is consistently higher than the national average and the rates at similar institutions.