Episode 20: James Aston D.O. Founder of Rollin' Bones & OMT Practitioner

Send us Fan MailDr. Aston is a Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine alumnus who did a family practice residency at Unity Health in Arkansas and completed further training in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) at the University of North Texas. He currently works at the University of North Texas Health Science Center's family medicine clinic and residency. In addition to these accolades, Dr. Aston was the world's first fellowship-trained performing arts medicine physician, using OMM to treat musicians and dancers.Dr. Aston is dedicated to the study of osteopathy. In an effort to educate students and the public about his passion, he has created a podcast, "Rollin’ Bones," where he discusses topics from the history of osteopathic medicine to the intricate details of specific osteopathic techniques. If you are interested in learning more about osteopathy, we highly recommend listening to his podcast. A link can be found in the podcast section of our website.Before we begin this episode, we think it is important to take a minute to define some terms that will be discussed with Dr. Aston.Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT), and neuromusculoskeletal medicine (NMM) are all synonymous terms that describe the study and practice of the manual techniques that make DOs unique. OMM is not meant to replace standard surgery and medical therapies but to COMPLEMENT them. Using manual medicine, the physician or “operator” uses their hands to fix “somatic dysfunctions.” Somatic dysfunctions are problems with the body’s structure, which when repaired can improve nerve, lymphatic, and/or blood flow in order to help return internal balance or homeostasis that, in turn, will accelerate the body’s natural healing process.The main osteopathic techniques include:1) soft tissue and myofascial release, where the physician massages muscles and superficial connective tissue to release tension.2) high-velocity low-amplitude thrusting technique (HVLA) - the classic “cracking” technique where joints are aligned into their barrier and then forced back into place with quick, forceful movements.3) muscle energy, where the physician engages the point of restriction and uses the patient’s strength to counteract that force, bringing the muscle to relax.4) counterstrain, where we put the tense tissues into a position of ease to relax tenderpoints in the tissues.There are also two very specialized techniques that frequently take years of extra study to master. They are visceral osteopathy, which focuses on facilitating the functions of the internal organs such as the stomach and heart, and cranial osteopathy, where the operator aims at releasing tension and stress in the body’s internal rhythms and impulses that they can feel with their hands through their patient’s heads and returning their body to a balanced rhythm.We encourage this episode for any listeners who are interested in learning more about OMM and how neuromuscular medicine can be an incredibly helpful and important treatment modality for all patients.We hope you enjoy this interview. Although our previous episodes have clearly shown the attributes that make osteopathic physicians special, this interview demonstrates what makes us unique.