Picture this: Your osteopathic manipulative medicine professor is demonstrating techniques on you in lab before you and your classmates pair up for more hands-on practice.
Today鈥檚 lesson focuses on the cervical spine, but something isn鈥檛 right with your neck. Based on feel, your professor thinks you have a chronic condition. He suggests a full examination and bloodwork, which points toward what he sensed through touch: you have signs of an autoimmune disease.
This is what happened to Alyssa Salera (DO 鈥�26), a 黑料传送门 Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine student, who was diagnosed and treated by Alberto Giardini, DO 鈥�19, an assistant clinical professor of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM).
鈥淚t made me believe so much more in OMM because he just felt my neck one day and, quite literally, said 鈥榙o you have any autoimmune conditions in your family history?鈥欌�� Salera said of the experience, which occurred toward the end of her first year of medical school. 鈥淥n the spot. It鈥檚 pretty cool.鈥�
Salera said students are taught to examine tissue texture as correlating with acute versus chronic conditions. In OMM, a muscle or tissue abnormality caused by a chronic condition can feel more ropey, like a cord. A more acute symptom can feel 鈥渂oggy鈥� or spongy. Limits to range of motion, and whether the impacted area feels warm or cold, also can factor into a diagnosis.
In Salera鈥檚 case, she arrived to an appointment with Giardini with a red facial rash鈥攏icknamed a butterfly rash鈥攊ndicative of lupus. She often experiences knee pain and swelling after running, which can also be symptoms of a condition like lupus. The same goes for consistent fatigue that goes beyond the bounds of a tired medical student.
Since that day in the OMM lab, Salera underwent an antinuclear antibody test and a related screening for more specific antibodies. They weren鈥檛 conclusive. Salera said she鈥檒l do further testing if symptoms become more prevalent.
鈥淚 just know in the back of my head that could be a diagnosis, and if symptoms are flaring up I can get bloodwork and take those next steps,鈥� she said recently. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 feel I need to do that right now.鈥�
In the meantime, she鈥檚 asked family members to explore their health more deeply, as autoimmune conditions have large hereditary components.
鈥淭here is so much information you can glean from putting your hands on your patient and examining them, an art that is slowly being lost with many physicians,鈥� Giardini said. 鈥淚t is the second thing we teach students in medical school, right after 鈥楲isten to your patient!鈥� The fact that Alyssa learned this about herself during a lesson on palpation hopefully means she will not forget it for the rest of her career and can carry it forward.鈥�
Currently completing clinical rotations during her third year, Salera is drawn toward pediatrics. Her appreciation for OMM continues to run deep.
鈥淔or Dr. G to be so smart and to use his hands to help students, including me and what could potentially be a life-changing health situation, that鈥檚 huge,鈥� Salera said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a level of genuine care.鈥�
Established in 1899, 黑料传送门 has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a 鈥渨hole person鈥� approach to care鈥攖reating people, not just symptoms. 黑料传送门, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (黑料传送门, 黑料传送门 Georgia and 黑料传送门 South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. 黑料传送门 students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, 黑料传送门 provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
For general media inquiries, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 215-871-6300 or communications@pcom.edu. Visit our media relations page to view contact information for public relations personnel.
Brandon Lausch
Executive Director, Strategic Communications
Office of Marketing and Communications
Email: brandonla@pcom.edu
Office: 215-871-6312