Does Osteopathic Treatment Have An Impact On Lung Capacity in Healthy Adults? A Randomised Controlled trial".
Item
- Title
- Does Osteopathic Treatment Have An Impact On Lung Capacity in Healthy Adults? A Randomised Controlled trial".
- Author(s)
- Wattts, E
- Abstract
- Background: Dysfunctional Breathing (DB) is becoming increasingly prevalent across the population and can lead to the development of respiratory pathology. DB can arise from musculoskeletal imbalances in the thorax. Osteopaths are uniquely qualified to address these restrictions and therefore could contribute to reducing the prevalence of DB and the burden the resultant respiratory pathologies place on the NHS each year. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of 5 osteopathic manipulative techniques applied to the thorax on lung function. Design: Randomised, controlled, single blind, independent groups design. Method: Subjects were recruited from third and fourth year students of the European School of Osteopathy (ESQ), were not suffering from respiratory symptoms and were non-smokers. Participants were randomly allocated into a control, sham or experimental condition. The duration of intervention was 10 minutes. The dependent variables were measured using a portable spirometer, three times before and after each condition. The values measured were Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), Forced Expiratory Volume over 1 second (FEVI) and Forced Vital Capacity (FVC). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was run to establish significant difference in the outcome measures between groups. Results: Data was normally distributed. Variance was equal within groups. ANOVA p values were all greater than 0.05. The experimental group exhibited the greatest difference in pre and post values for all outcome measures however this change was insignificant. Discussion: The changes in outcome measures post intervention were statistically insignificant between groups. However, OMT was able to elicit some change in respiratory function. It may have been flaws within the design of the study that lead to the insignificance of the results rather than ineffectiveness of OMT. Previous research has showed significant effects on lung function when applied to patients with respiratory complaints. It may be that OMT is effective at improving lung function only when applied to symptomatic subjects. There were also limitations in the use of spirometry to evaluate pulmonary health as well as the myriad factors affecting lung function which were not controlled for. Conclusion: The results suggest that multi.-technique OMT has no significant effect on pulmonary function in healthy subjects. Future research may find more significant results when investigating symptomatic patients.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2015
- Date Submitted
- 2.12.2016 16:55:00
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15925
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Forced Expiratory Volume, Forced Vital Capacity, Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Wattts, E, “Does Osteopathic Treatment Have An Impact On Lung Capacity in Healthy Adults? A Randomised Controlled trial".”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 1, 2025, https://www.osteopathic-research.com/s/orw/item/556