Hands That Heal

October 2025 | Vol. 69, No. 3
Written by Jina Park, PCOM OMS-II

Once,
a breath caught in my chest,
pain shooting between my ribs–
My classmate found a tender point,
Held it still through counterstrain–
Until the tension softened,
And my breath eased.

Later,
stress tightly clenched my jaw,
My TMJ grinding through restless nights–
I flipped through my textbook,
And tried a Muscle Energy Technique learned in lab–
Fingers guiding the hinge and release along my TMJ.
The ache softened,
Like a locked door that opened.

Some tout Osteopathic Medicine as more difficult,
More to memorize,
More board exams,
More toil.
But I found myself grateful–
For the extra weight…
For what I learned:

That healing can be holistic,
Medicine is not only pharmacology and charts,
But also Touch,
Breath,
And the Osteopathic truth
which recognizes
Body, Mind, and Spirit
as One.