doc
Winter 2014 • Kentucky
“When I was a dietitian seeing patients, I
felt they needed more than what they were
getting from their physicians, and it was very
frustrating,” Brandenburg said. “The way we
were taught in osteopathy school, when talking with patients, you listen to everything.
Just because they come in with a cough,
you just don’t focus in on the lungs; it may
be something else is going on. I think that’s
beneficial.”
The AOA says D.O.s are trained to identify
and correct structural problems. They also
understand how all the body’s systems are
interconnected and how each one affects
the others, especially the musculoskeletal
system.
D.O.s use osteopathic manipulative treatment, or OMT, to help diagnose illnesses
and treat patients. OMT encourages the
body to heal itself. OMT can be used to
treat asthma, musculoskeletal abnormalities,
back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, menstrual pain, sinus disorders and migraines.
OMT can complement and sometimes even
replace drugs or surgery.
“OMT encompasses everything from what’s
called mild facial release, which is really
just kind of gentle movements, to muscle
energy where you use opposing muscles,”
Brandenburg said.
Although some D.O.s stop using OMT after
they leave medical school, Brandenburg
continues to incorporate it in his treatment
plans.
“I always used manipulation throughout my
residency and on my patients, and I actually
had a following of patients who would only
come see me because of that,” he said.
As a GI fellow, Brandenburg often sees
people who come in with abdominal pain.
A nurse practitioner or family physician
who was not able to figure out what to do
for them might have sent the patient to
Brandenburg.
“I did osteopathic exams and I noticed this
is [a] muscular skeletal problem; this is not a
gastric or intestinal problem,” Brandenburg
said. “I told them [they] just needed stretching, or more manipulation would be beneficial.”
According to the
American Osteopathic
Association (www.
osteopathic.org):
Brandenburg started out as a dietician,
having earned a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Morehead State University and a
master’s degree in clinical nutrition from
Marshall University. While working with a
chiropractor, he became intrigued by that
field. He thought about going to chiropractic
school, but his colleague talked him out of it.
“He said, ‘If you want to do manipulation,
go to an osteopathic school. That way you
are a physician and you are treated with
respect and you can also do manipulation,’”
Brandenburg said. “I talked to some D.O.s.
They seemed more open to new ideas.”
Brandenburg, a licensed internist, completed
his internal medicine residency at UK and
earned his D.O. at the University of Pikeville
Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine.
After completing his fellowship – which will
be the culmination of 10 years of study – he
plans to return to his hometown of Ashland
to be in a practice at Our Lady of Bellefonte
Hospital.
Brandenburg sees himself as an ambassador
for osteopathy. He takes D.O. students at
UKMC under his wing and works to educate
the public about osteopathy and D.O.s.
“People should know a D.O. is the equivalent of an MD,” Brandenburg said. “There’s
nothing an M.D. can do that a D.O. can’t do.
Jokingly, we say we have rivalries, but as long
you’re a good doctor, you’re a good doctor.”
We have to know everything
the M.D. student knows.
—Rob Brandenburg, D.O.
Approximately 60 percent
of practicing osteopathic
physicians (D.O.s) practice in
the prima