Osteopathic manipulation and its applicability in the emergency department: A narrative review

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), also known as osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), is a set of manual techniques, developed by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, founder of osteopathic medicine, initially limited to osteopathic medicine, for the treatment of painful conditions. This toolset is now used by allopathic physicians, international osteopaths, physical therapists, chiropractors, and other healthcare workers for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. OMT can be used in the emergency department (ED) for the treatment of musculoskeletal complaints as an adjunct to pharmacologic agents (e.g., NSAIDs), or an alternative to opioids.

This narrative review provides emergency clinicians with an understanding of OMT, including a broad overview of the basis, development, and common subtypes of OMT; data on OMT efficacy and on the use of conditions commonly encountered in the ED setting; and information on how to implement the use of OMT in emergency medicine and urgent care settings.

OMT can be used for a wide variety of acute and chronic pain conditions, particularly back pain, headaches, neck pain, and extremity pain (assuming that life-threatening conditions have been excluded). There are small studies and case series demonstrating both efficacy and subjective improvement with OMT, including in the ED. However, limitations to the current body of literature include: small numbers of patients, challenges with blinding and standardization, limited adverse event reporting, and most research has been outside of the ED setting. There is great opportunity for future studies and application of OMT in the ED. There are an increasing number of emergency clinicians incorporating OMT in their practice and despite the perception of OMT requiring extended periods of time to perform, current data suggests OMT does not prolong ED visits or cost to patients. OMT is a procedure with billing codes, and courses and training in OMT are available for both osteopathic and allopathic physicians.

OMT is being used and has great potential in the management of acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain in the ED in addition to, or instead of pharmacologic agents, in particular as an opioid-sparing option.