Musculoskeletal Medicine and PainORIGINAL ARTICLE
Abstract
Context: While medications have their place in the treatment of pain, incorporating the century-old practice of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) into pain treatment protocols may be beneficial. OMT has been administered with positive results in the reduction of pain, but it has been difficult to quantify palpable somatic changes, post-OMT. However, with technological advancement, adding objective documentation could potentially support the many published subjective studies demonstrating OMT effectiveness, reproducibility of OMT techniques, and the effect of OMT in pain reduction.
Objectives: This study documented objective changes in cervical hysteresis, consistent reproducible palpatory diagnosis, and treatment pressures with associated pain levels.
Methods: A total of 213 subjects were enrolled and randomized into two treatment groups. Subjects reported their cervical pain via pre- and posttreatment questionnaires. One physician measured somatic tissue hysteresis pre- and posttreatment in all cervical segments utilizing the ULTRAlign SA201®. A second physician independently diagnosed for significant somatic dysfunction and treated with cervical OMT (while wearing the IsoTouch® palpation monitoring system).
Results: Statistically significant or suggestive overall cervical changes were observed in all four ULTRAlign SA201® hysteresis measurement components. Consistent diagnostic and treatment IsoTouch® pressure measures were documented in the cervical region. Neck pain subjects reported pain reduction posttreatment, with no subjects remaining in the severe pain subgroup.
Conclusions: Statistically significant or suggestive objective cervical hysteresis changes were noted after direct method OMT, along with a reduction in pain scores in this subject population. Consistent palpatory pressures for cervical diagnosis and treatment were measured, supporting the reproducibility of these techniques.