Using Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy to Treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Severe Refractory Gastroesophageal...

Both Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) pose significant healthcare burdens on the general population of America. Though first-line medications are available, concomitant burdens of polypharmacy, side effects, and inadequate control exist. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) is a hands-on, physical manipulation technique that offers a personalized and direct approach to modifying the body's neuromuscular and viscerosomatic activity leading to decreased symptomatic burden with minimal side effects. OMT comprises different modalities with significant versatility. They range from indirect, gentle techniques such as counterstrain to more direct, forceful techniques such as high-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA), each used as the situation demands. This case report discusses a 28-year-old male patient who had struggled to control his ever-worsening GERD and IBS symptoms, despite consulting multiple physicians and undergoing treatment with various therapies. Even with adherence to the recommended medications and lifestyle changes, his symptoms had only been minimally reduced. This resulted in substantial distress, worsening his physical and emotional health. A full-body OMT regimen was created and implemented to quell his symptoms at the source. This regimen was performed weekly for one month, with self-reported symptom prevalence evaluated from the first treatment until one month after the last treatment. Over the two months, the associated symptomatology became almost nonexistent. At the conclusion of the documented period, the individualized OMT regimen produced significantly greater symptomatic relief than any of the first-line medications used earlier.