Does the osteopathic pedal pump reduce lower limb volume in healthy subjects?

Context: Lymphatic treatments are gentle and passive techniques believed to enhance movement of lymph back into the central circulatory system. Animal studies provide supportive evidence, yet there are few studies in humans.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate whether the osteopathic pedal pump protocol reduces volume in the lower limbs of healthy subjects.

The Potential of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment in Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Narrative Review.

The contemporary management of infectious diseases is built around antimicrobial therapy. However, the development of antimicrobial resistance threatens to create a post-antibiotic era. Antimicrobial stewardship attempts to reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance by improving their appropriate use.

Multicenter Osteopathic Pneumonia Study in the Elderly: Subgroup Analysis on Hospital Length of Stay, Ventilator-Dependent Respiratory Failure Rate, and In-hospital Mortality Rate.

Context: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a promising adjunctive treatment for older adults hospitalized for pneumonia.

Objective: To report subgroup analyses from the Multicenter Osteopathic Pneumonia Study in the Elderly (MOPSE) relating to hospital length of stay (LOS), ventilator-dependent respiratory failure rate, and in-hospital mortality rate.

Design: Multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Effective Patient-Physician Communication Based on Osteopathic Philosophy in Caring for Elderly Patients.

The objective of this article is to discuss effective communication strategies between elderly patients and their physicians from the perspective of osteopathic heritage. The patient-physician communication styles of Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, and early osteopathic physicians (ie, DOs) may have influenced how DOs today communicate with their patients. Historical literature describes how Still would discuss with his patients the causes of their health problems using analogies and language they would understand, and how, when caring for a patient at the end of life, he empathically provided emotional support for both patients and their families.

Axioms, osteopathic culture, and a perspective from geriatric medicine.

Osteopathic medicine is a rapidly growing discipline in health care that has much to offer the wider biomedical community. A distinction of the osteopathic medical profession is the importance of an overall guiding philosophy. Despite the osteopathic medical profession's success, there remains concern about the profession's ability to maintain its unique identity.

Leg length discrepancy and osteoarthritic knee pain in the elderly: an observational study.

Context: Osteoarthritic knee pain is very common, as are leg length discrepancies (LLDs). The relationship between LLDs and osteoarthritic knee pain is not well understood.

Objective: To confirm a clinical impression that osteoarthritic knee pain is more common in the short (ie, superior-presenting) leg, as measured by supine physical examination of 3 bony landmarks: the medial malleoli, the anterior superior iliac spines, and the iliac crests.

The short-term effect of a lymphatic pump protocol on blood cell counts in nursing home residents with limited mobility: a pilot study.

Context: Lymphatic pump techniques have the potential to alter blood cell counts and thus enhance immune function in elderly adults with diminished mobility.

Objective: To test whether an osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) protocol designed to enhance immune function will have an effect on lymphocyte and lymphocyte subset counts compared with a sham control group.

Design: The study design was a single-session, randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing a standardized lymphatic pump protocol with a light-touch protocol.

Developing osteopathic competencies in geriatrics for medical students.

Context: Minimum core competencies for allopathic medical students in the specialty area of geriatrics have been developed, comprising 26 competencies divided into 8 topical domains. These competencies are appropriate for osteopathic medical students, but they do not include competencies relating to osteopathic principles and practice (OPP) in geriatrics. There remains a need within the osteopathic profession to develop specialty-specific competencies specific to OPP.

Promoting successful aging through effective prevention and management of osteoporosis.

Successful aging has been described as having 3 components: a low probability of disease and disease-related disability, a capacity for high cognitive and physical function, and active engagement with social and productive activities. Osteopathic physicians play a critical role in the promotion of successful aging through the prevention, early detection, and management of osteoporosis. Not many years ago, osteoporosis was viewed as an age-related disorder for which there was a lack of effective approaches for early intervention and management.

Management of falls and balance disorders in the elderly.

Falls, gait disturbances, and balance disorders are common clinical problems for the elderly, and these problems are associated with considerable morbidity. However, the literature reports relatively few effective treatment options, such as vitamin D replacement, exercise and physical therapy, and tai chi. Because of the limited number of available effective interventions, there is a need to explore other approaches, such as osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Efficacy of osteopathic manipulation as an adjunctive treatment for hospitalized patients with pneumonia: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The Multicenter Osteopathic Pneumonia Study in the Elderly (MOPSE) is a registered, double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial designed to assess the efficacy of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) as an adjunctive treatment in elderly patients with pneumonia.

Methods: 406 subjects aged >/= 50 years hospitalized with pneumonia at 7 community hospitals were randomized using concealed allocation to conventional care only (CCO), light-touch treatment (LT), or OMT groups. All subjects received conventional treatment for pneumonia.

The immediate effect of individual manipulation techniques on pulmonary function measures in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: The use of manipulation has long been advocated in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but few randomized controlled clinical trials have measured the effect of manipulation on pulmonary function. In addition, the effects of individual manipulative techniques on the pulmonary system are poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effects of four osteopathic techniques on pulmonary function measures in persons with COPD relative to a minimal-touch control protocol.

Clinical and research protocol for osteopathic manipulative treatment of elderly patients with pneumonia.

Pneumonia in elderly patients is a major public health concern because of greater morbidity and mortality and longer hospital stays relative to younger populations. Based on the premise that osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is beneficial in the management of pulmonary infections, the Multicenter Osteopathic Pneumonia Study in the Elderly (MOPSE) was designed as a prospective randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of OMT as an adjunct to the current pharmacologic treatment of elderly patients hospitalized for pneumonia. The protocol developed for MOPSE has its origins in early osteopathic medical literature at a time when effective antibiotic therapy was unavailable and osteopathic physicians relied on physical examination and empiric reasoning to develop treatment strategies and OMT techniques to improve host defenses against pneumonia.

Immediate effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Context: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) has long been advocated for patients with respiratory disorders, but little definitive evidence exists to support its use in this population.

Objective: To investigate the immediate effect of OMT on pulmonary function parameters in elderly subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Methods: Subjects aged 65 years or older with a forced expiratory volume in 1 second to forced vital capacity ratio of less than 70% were recruited and randomly assigned to receive either OMT or sham therapy.

Revisiting Castlio and Ferris-Swift's experiments on direct splenic stimulation in patients with acute infectious disease.

Background: In 1934, Yale Castlio, DO, and Louise Ferris-Swift, DO, published the results of a within-subjects experiment on direct splenic stimulation in patients with acute infectious disease (N=100). Their results, which used rudimentary statistical analyses, are still cited as evidence that osteopathic manipulative treatment augments immunity.

Objective: To retest the validity of Castlio and Ferris-Swift's conclusions by applying contemporary statistical methods to their raw data.