Teaching and healing go hand in hand

I only played two games as a little girl – doctor and teacher. I idolized my father, the physician and my mother, the educator. My obedient little brother would alternate between being the student and the patient. Back and forth, back and forth, for years. It wasn’t long into our childhood that he started donning headphones and listening to music to drown out my bossy big sister voice. It’s no surprise he chose a career in music.

As a high school student, I loved athletics. Everything about sports intrigued me – the pomp and circumstance, the football stadium, the fans, the blood and the thirst for the win. I still tear up every time I hear a high school marching band play the national anthem, or hear the Blue Waves ring that bell. I was a cheerleader, and a team photographer and an all-sports groupie for my high school and college. I couldn’t get enough.

In college, I would hang out in the athletic trainer’s office helping him tape ankles and set the jacuzzi tub to just the right temperature to freeze the pain out of a wounded athlete’s limbs. I would check out x-rays with the team docs and learned from the physical therapists how to do “athletic massage.”

So as a senior at Villanova, it wasn’t until my pre-med advisor told me about osteopathic medicine that I actually knew the difference between a D.O. and an M.D. Once I understood the osteopathic philosophy, going to an osteopathic medical school was the obvious choice for me as someone who was fascinated with the musculoskeletal system and the intimate relationships between structure and function.

On a family vacation to Lake George, I received the phone call that I was accepted to NYCOM – The New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. There I became even more enthralled with the hands-on approach and the whole person philosophy of healthcare. A few times I considered OB/Gyn and Physical Medicine and Rehab. But it was the osteopathic manipulation, the hands-on treatment that we learned from the very first day of school that made me a traditional osteopath at heart.

If you’ve been to the hospital or to a physician’s office on the north fork in the last two years, you may have noticed that you were seen by an osteopathic trainee or medical student. Our own Peconic Bay Medical Center has recently become the home to postgraduate training programs for D.O.s. I currently serve as the Administrative Director of Medical Education for the programs which train medical school graduates in Family Medicine, General Surgery or a Rotating Internship which covers all specialties.

Many people have seen D.O.s, but most don’t know what that means. Doctors of Osteopathy (D.O.s) are fully licensed physicians who are authorized to prescribe medication, perform surgery and order all diagnostic tests. However, in addition to traditional medical training, D.O.s also receive hands-on training in musculoskeletal diagnosis and treatment referred to as Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment or O.M.T.

Doctors of Osteopathy can choose to practice any specialty. Some incorporate O.M.T. into their practice. But most who perform manipulation have outpatient osteopathic practices that focus largely on musculoskeletal problems. However osteopaths are skilled at using O.M.T to treat medical conditions in conjunction with traditional medical management. Treatment can also be performed on the hospitalized patients to enhance the effects of their medical or surgical treatment.

In addition to medical and musculoskeletal problems, the osteopath is skilled at taking care of special populations such as: the pregnant woman dealing with unique issue such as back pain and fluid retention; infants and pediatrics who suffer may from suckling abnormalities, difficulty sleeping, neck spasm, birth trauma, and colic; geriatrics dealing with chronic pain, arthritis, and incontinence; as well as athletes, dancers, and performers who often present with acute and chronic injuries, muscle spasm, and deformities that result from repetitive training.

As a field, osteopathy is a healthcare philosophy that the body, mind and spirit as a unit that has the intrinsic ability to heal itself. Physicians can prescribe medications, surgeries and therapies to aid in that process, but even if left alone, the body’s tendency is toward homeostasis and balance. We can assist the natural process of healing by using hands-on treatments intended to decrease inflammation and pain, increase range of motion, and improve circulatory and lymphatic flow.

Approaching the patient as a whole, forces the consideration of the biopsychosocial aspects of a patient’s life. This helps us eliminate barriers to healing such as poor nutrition, trauma, toxins, stress, infection, and poor overall health. Imperative to the treatment plan is effective communication between the primary care physician, consulting physicians, ancillary professionals such as physical therapists and counselors, and of course, the patient.

Nowadays, I spend a lot of time in my office not only treating patients with hands-on O.M.T. but also teaching them how to care for themselves, how to get well and stay well. All that childhood practice has paid off in both the areas of medicine and education. And wouldn’t you know, I only recently learned that the word ‘doctor’ comes from the Latin verb ‘docere’ which means ‘to teach.’ Huh! Who knew?!?!

Alexis Hugelmeyer, D.O. is the wife of Michael, mother of Isabella, 5, and Lance, 2, and a family physician whose passion is hands-on manipulation for treatment and healing of any and every type of medical problem. She is administrative director of medical education and internship director at Peconic Bay Medical Center and also a private practitioner in Riverhead. A graduate of Villanova University and New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, she lives in Baiting Hollow.

Look for Dr. Mom every Saturday on Riverheadlocal.com

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