Is the osteopathic treatment to be seen as an alternative method for treating and successfully supporting opiate addicts during withdrawal and detoxication?

Item

Title
Is the osteopathic treatment to be seen as an alternative method for treating and successfully supporting opiate addicts during withdrawal and detoxication?
Author(s)
Neuhold Gudrun
Abstract
From an osteopathic point of view this subject is interesting because,
at least in Austria, there is no alternative method for










From an osteopathic
point of view this subject is interesting because, at least in Austria, there
is no alternative method for treating detoxication symptoms during the
withdrawal and recovery period other than accupuncture.

The
importance of osteopathy as an alternative method of treatment lies in the fact
that substances (in this case opiates) are normally treated with other
substances (pharmaceuticals) whereas drug addicts in particular should escape
this pattern to get over their addiction.

Also,
after an acute withdrawal, which usually lasts a week, it is important that the
person learns to feel his/her body again and develops a bodily consciousness.
Through the osteopathic treatment the person experiences an increase in his/her
physical and thus psychological well-being.


The
aim of this study is to reveal whether an osteopathic treatment such as working
with the fluid field and the immune system as well as stimulating the excretory
organs such as liver and kidneys, for example, can cause longer-term reductions
in the common withdrawal symptoms and post-syndromes (insomnia, restlessness,
depression, diarrhoea, rheumatic pains, muscular cramps, …). Most or all of
these symptoms usually occur during the acute withdrawal (up to 1 week) whereas
generally only 1-2 post-symptoms persist thereafter.



Suitable test
persons will be found during a three-month stationary withdrawal "walkabout”
under the supervision of Dr. Werner Friedl in Graz starting in summer 2004. The
target group consists of 6 - 10 opiate addicts who have been consuming opiates
illegally or as a substitute for 2 -3 years in order to exclude to a large
extent diseases with organic manifestations. Moreover, these people should not
be

infected
with hepatitis C nor should they undergo any other therapeutic treatment such
as accupuncture (if required painkillers are allowed). The control group also
consists of 6 - 10 people who will be selected according to the same criteria,
but who do not bring the willingness to undergo any osteopathic treatment.



The
osteopathic treatment should already start during the acute withdrawal (7-10
days duration) and should be carried out once a week during the three-month
hospitalisation. At the beginning of each treatment session the frequency and
intensity of the typical but individually different withdrawal symptoms will be
measured using a questionnaire in which the person can rate his/her well-being
on a scale from 1 - 10.
presented at
Wiener Schule für Osteopathie
Date Accepted
2009
Date Submitted
1.2.2009 00:00:00
Type
osteo_thesis
Language
English
Number of pages
60
Submitted by:
62
Pub-Identifier
12895
Inst-Identifier
781
Keywords
Opiate addicts
Recommended
1
Medium
Neuhold.pdf
Item sets
Thesis
Media
Neuhold.pdf

Neuhold Gudrun, “Is the osteopathic treatment to be seen as an alternative method for treating and successfully supporting opiate addicts during withdrawal and detoxication?”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed April 23, 2024, https://www.osteopathic-research.com/s/orw/item/3189