Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment as an Intervention to Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in First Responders:
Christena Abraham1, Shelly N B Sloan2, Charles Coker1
1Medical students at Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM).
Abstract:
In this pilot study, we examined the efficacy of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) for improving symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression (SAD) to determine a correlation between overall improvement in health and quality of life for first responders. Participants received weekly OMT or sham OMT targeting autonomic imbalance. Indicators of SAD were examined pre- and post-study. Overall, this pilot study suggests improvement in both the social-psychological (mental) self-assessments, and alterations in SAD-associated biomarkers from OMT.
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