Growing pains in children- can osteopathy improve the clinical picture?
Item
- Title
- Growing pains in children- can osteopathy improve the clinical picture?
- Author(s)
- Kramer Birgit
- Abstract
-
Study Design
The study design is a controlled clinical application.
Outline/Problem Definition
This study deals with the basic question whether osteopathy could represent a good treatment option for children with “growing pains”.
Research Question & Objective
The objective of this paper is to carry out more research with regard to the possibilities of therapy for children with “growing pains”. The actual question of this study is, whether osteopathy can influence the clinical picture of “growing pains” in children in a positive way.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis of this study is that an individualized osteopathic treatment can influence “growing pains” in a positive way.
Relevance for the Patients
“Growing pains” are pulling nocturnal pains that usually occur in the lower extremities. The quest for possible therapies for children with “growing pains“ seems to be more than urgent especially because the administration of medication (Paracetamol) is recommended as treatment even though the effectiveness of this form of treatment has not been verified yet.
Relevance for Osteopathy
Articles that were published in recent years point out repeatedly that the suggestions concerning the treatment of “growing pains are insufficient. Since there is no standard therapy for the clinical picture of “growing pains”, it seemed to be interesting to find out whether osteopathy can contribute to improving the symptoms.
Methodology
The effect of the treatment is evaluated on the basis of changes in the clinical picture. Two outcome measurements are analyzed in particular: intensity and frequency of the pain. These two parameters are assessed by means of a questionnaire developed by the author. The 14 children in the experimental group received three osteopathic treatments over the study period of three months, while the 13 children in the control group were not treated at all in the same period. After the study period 7 children of the control group were treated like the children in the experimental group and compared with themselves (comparison group). All the participants recruited at the beginning of the study are randomized into two groups (experimental group and control group) by drawing of lots. The participants who join in later are attributed alternately into the two groups according to their order of calls. The test persons do not know whether they belong to the experimental or control group.
Results
The hypothesis of this study that an individualized osteopathic treatment can influence “growing pains” in a positive way could be confirmed. The reduction of both the intensity and also the frequency of the pain were significant for the overall sample, but in comparison with the control group the tendency was more pronounced in the experimental group. However, the 7 children who were compared with themselves did show a significant change in the pain intensity after the treatment.
Critical Reflection/Perspectives/Conclusions
The present study does not provide the basis for a clear conclusion whether osteopathic treatment is effective in the case of “growing pains”. The decrease of both the pain intensity and frequency was significant for the overall sample and a comparison of the two groups showed that the decrease in the experimental group was more pronounced than in the control group but the difference was statistically not significant.
This means that osteopathy can have an influence on “growing pains” but the problem can also improve if someone just shows interest in it by talking about it and asks to rate the pain like in the control group of this study. The question about the specific effectiveness of osteopathy in the case of “growing pains” thus cannot be answered clearly.
A statistically significant result for osteopathy is the decrease of pain intensity in the seven children of the control group who were treated after the actual study period and were then compared with themselves.
The central question whether osteopathy represents a good treatment option in the case of “growing pains” in children can still be answered positively. However, it would make sense to carry out further studies in a similar way. From an osteopathic point of view the results of a study with a larger sample, more therapists and maybe a larger number of treatments (depending on the age of the children) would provide more valid data.
Additional Information
- presented at
- Wiener Schule für Osteopathie
- Date Accepted
- 2007
- Date Submitted
- 1.2.2008 00:00:00
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 13063
- Inst-Identifier
- 781
- Keywords
- Growing pain,Children
- Recommended
- 0
- Medium
- KramerBirgit.pdf
- Item sets
- Thesis
- Media
- KramerBirgit.pdf
Kramer Birgit, “Growing pains in children- can osteopathy improve the clinical picture?”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed April 24, 2024, https://www.osteopathic-research.com/s/orw/item/3026