Validity of the Rule of Threes and Anatomical Relationships in the Thoracic Spine.

Context: The location of the more superficial thoracic spinous processes is used to help osteopathic physicians locate the deeper and more difficult-to-palpate thoracic transverse processes. In 1979, Mitchell et al proposed the thoracic rule of threes to describe the relationship of the spinous processes to the transverse processes in the thoracic spine. This rule is currently taught at osteopathic medical schools.

Somatic dysfunction and use of osteopathic manual treatment techniques during ambulatory medical care visits: a CONCORD-PBRN study.

Context: Osteopathic manual treatment (OMT) of somatic dysfunction is a unique approach to medical care that may be studied within a practice-based research network.

Objective: To measure patient characteristics and osteopathic physician practice patterns within the Consortium for Collaborative Osteopathic Research Development-Practice-Based Research Network (CONCORD-PBRN).

Design: Cross-sectional card study.

Establishing the content validity of palpatory examination for the assessment of the lumbar spine using ultrasonography: a pilot study.

Context: Practitioners of manipulative medicine have long sought to prove the intra- and interexaminer reliability of palpatory examinations in assessing somatic dysfunction. However, decades of research have yet to achieve the level of reproducibility needed to satisfy evidence-based criteria.

Objectives: To examine the content validity of segmental motion evaluations using ultrasonographic measurements and to investigate the implication of these results for understanding the effects of an osteopathic manipulative treatment technique--high-velocity, low-amplitude (HVLA)--applied to somatic dysfunction in the lumbar spine.

Short-term hematologic and hemodynamic effects of osteopathic lymphatic techniques: a pilot crossover trial.

Context: Research into the physiologic effects of osteopathic lymphatic techniques has been somewhat limited.

Objective: To assess the short-term hematologic and hemodynamic effects of a comprehensive lymphatic treatment protocol.

Methods: Randomized crossover design that included 10-minute lymphatic treatment and rest (control) protocols delivered 1 week apart for a small pilot group of healthy men (N=15).