Effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment vs. osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine on Parkinsonian gait.

Context: Sixty thousand people are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) each year, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. PD results in a variety of gait disturbances, including muscular rigidity and decreased range of motion (ROM), that increase the fall risk of those afflicted. Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) emphasizes the central role of the musculoskeletal system, which could be ideal for addressing the somatic dysfunction associated with neurodegeneration in PD.

Does Compression of the Fourth Ventricle Cause Preterm Labor? Analysis of Data From the PROMOTE Study.

Background: The technique for the compression of the fourth ventricle (CV4) in the brain has been described as a method of reaching the physiologic centers that reside in its floor and of restoring optimal flow of the cerebrospinal fluid. However, a study published as an abstract in 1992 questioned whether CV4, when applied to pregnant women, could induce uterine contractions and possibly labor.

Objective: To further examine whether CV4 could induce uterine contractions and labor as part of the osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) protocol used in the Pregnancy Research in Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects (PROMOTE) study.

Pregnancy Research on Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects: The PROMOTE Study Protocol.

The structural and physiologic changes in a woman's body during pregnancy can predispose pregnant women to low back pain and its associated disability, as well as to complications of pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Anecdotal and empirical evidence has indicated that osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) may be efficacious in improving pain and functionality in women who are pregnant. Based on that premise, the Pregnancy Research on Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects (PROMOTE) study was designed as a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, and blinded clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of an OMT protocol for pain during third-trimester pregnancy.

PROMOTE Study: Safety of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment During the Third Trimester by Labor and Delivery Outcomes.

Background: Few quality data exist on the safety of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) during pregnancy. The Pregnancy Research on Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects (PROMOTE) study was a randomized controlled clinical trial that studied the application of an OMT protocol to manage pain and dysfunction in pregnant patients during their third trimester.

Objective: To evaluate the safety of an OMT protocol applied during the third trimester of pregnancy by analyzing incidence of high-risk status and labor and delivery outcomes.

Pregnancy Research on Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects: the PROMOTE study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) to reduce low back pain and improve functioning during the third trimester in pregnancy and to improve selected outcomes of labor and delivery.

Study Design: Pregnancy research on osteopathic manipulation optimizing treatment effects was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 400 women in their third trimester. Women were assigned randomly to usual care only (UCO), usual care plus OMT (OMT), or usual care plus placebo ultrasound treatment (PUT).

OMT associated with reduced analgesic prescribing and fewer missed work days in patients with low back pain: an observational study.

Context: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the standard for establishing practice guidelines; however, they are expensive and time-consuming, and often the generalizability of the results is limited.

Objectives: To conduct an observational study using the findings of the American Osteopathic Association's Clinical Assessment Program (AOA-CAP) low back pain module, and to compare these findings with those of a major back pain-related RCT to determine the validity and generalizability of this pseudoexperimental model.

Methods: Data were abstracted from the AOA-CAP for Residencies platform from April 1, 2006, through October 5, 2007, with a diagnosis code consistent with low back pain.

Acute improvement in hemodynamic control after osteopathic manipulative treatment in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Objectives: The physiological changes that occur during pregnancy, including increased blood volume and cardiac output, can affect hemodynamic control, most profoundly with positional changes that affect venous return to the heart. By using Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT), a body-based modality theorized to affect somatic structures related to nervous and circulatory systems, we hypothesized that OMT acutely improves both autonomic and hemodynamic control during head-up tilt and heel raise in women at 30 weeks gestation.

Design: One hundred subjects were recruited at 30 weeks gestation.

Suboccipital decompression enhances heart rate variability indices of cardiac control in healthy subjects.

Objectives: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) focused on the upper cervical spine is theorized to affect the function of the vagus nerve and thereby influence the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. This study was designed to determine the acute effect of upper cervical spine manipulation on cardiac autonomic control as measured by heart rate variability.

Design: Nineteen healthy, young adult subjects underwent three different experimental interventions administered in random order: cervical OMT, sham manipulation, and time control.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment of back pain and related symptoms during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To study osteopathic manipulative treatment of back pain and related symptoms during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Study Design: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to compare usual obstetric care and osteopathic manipulative treatment, usual obstetric care and sham ultrasound treatment, and usual obstetric care only. Outcomes included average pain levels and the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire to assess back-specific functioning.

OSTEOPAThic Health outcomes in chronic low back pain: The OSTEOPATHIC Trial.

Background: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and ultrasound physical therapy (UPT) are commonly used for chronic low back pain. Although there is evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis that OMT generally reduces low back pain, there are no large clinical trials that specifically assess OMT efficacy in chronic low back pain. Similarly, there is a lack of evidence involving UPT for chronic low back pain.