Osteopathy (from Ancient Greek ὀστέον (ostéon) 'bone', and πάθος (páthos) 'pain, suffering') is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. Practitioners of osteopathy are not medically trained and are referred to as osteopaths, unlike Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) (Osteopathic Physicians), who are licensed to practice medicine and surgery in all 50 US states. Only graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges may practice the full scope of medicine and surgery generally considered to be medicine by the general public.

Osteopathic manipulation is the core set of techniques in osteopathy. Parts of osteopathy, such as craniosacral therapy, have no therapeutic value and have been labeled as pseudoscience and quackery. The techniques are based on an ideology created by Andrew Taylor Still (1828–1917) which posits the existence of a "myofascial continuity"—a tissue layer that "links every part of the body with every other part". Osteopaths attempt to diagnose and treat what was originally called "the osteopathic lesion", but which is now named "somatic dysfunction", by manipulating a person's bones and muscles. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) techniques are most commonly used to treat back pain and other musculoskeletal issues.

Osteopathic manipulation is still included in the curricula of osteopathic physicians, not to be confused with non-physician osteopaths, and is considered a unique aspect of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) training. The "Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine" degree, however, became a medical degree and is no longer a degree of non-medical osteopathy. Because DOs in the United States attend accredited medical schools, graduates of osteopathic medical schools may take the standard Doctor of Medicine licensing exam, USMLE. They must additionally take the osteopathic physician-specific COMLEX medical licensing exam for the DO. DOs must attend residencies accredited by the ACGME, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine like their MD peers to practice medicine and surgery in any specialty of medicine.