Chronic inflammatory disease and osteopathy: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine
• Systematic review
• Clinical research

Background:

• Chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) are prevalent global health issues.
• Investigating the efficacy of manipulative therapies for CID is crucial.
• Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a form of manual therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the benefits of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) for chronic inflammatory diseases (CID).
• To assess the current evidence on OMT's effectiveness in managing CID.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a systematic literature search across eight databases (January 2014).
• Included experimental studies comparing OMT with control procedures for patients with CID.
• Utilized independent reviewers for study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment (Cochrane methods).

Main Results:

• Included 10 studies with 386 participants; diverse study designs were identified.
• Preliminary findings suggest potential benefits of OMT for conditions like COPD, IBS, asthma, and PAD, but data are inconclusive.
• Meta-analysis of COPD studies showed no significant effect of OMT compared to controls; no major side effects were reported.

Conclusions:

• The current evidence on OMT for CID is inconsistent.
• OMT appears to be a safe therapeutic approach.
• Further high-quality trials are necessary to establish OMT's efficacy and generalize findings.