A 2017 systematic review found evidence supporting effectiveness of osteopathic treatment in decreasing pain intensity and frequency, as well as reducing future pain episodes in adults with headache. The study was reviewing the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of osteopathy in patients with primary headaches

Cerritelli F, Lacorte E, Ruffini N, Vanacore N. Osteopathy for primary headache patients: a systematic review. J Pain Res. 2017;10:601–611. Published 2017 Mar 14. doi:10.2147/JPR.S130501 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5359118/

A new systematic review suggests that a gentle cranial osteopathic technique seems to give functional benefit for some patients.  One study they cited investigated its influence on sleep, another showed reduced pain levels in patients with tension type headaches and other studies suggested it may help relax patients.

A Żurowska, R Malak, et al “Compression of the Fourth Ventricle Using a Craniosacral Osteopathic Technique: A Systematic Review of the Clinical Evidence,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2017, Article ID 2974962, 8 pages, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/2974962.

Osteopathy compared to standard care had a better effect at lower cost for low back pain and was seen to be cost effective for neck pain in a trial investigating the health and economic consequences of osteopathic care for low back pain and neck pain compared to standard care

Osteopathic care for low back pain and neck pain: A cost-utility analysis. N.Verhaegheab, J.Schepersac, P.van Dund, L.Annemansa. Complementary Therapies in Medicine
Volume 40, October 2018, Pages 207-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2018.06.001

Osteopathic manipulative treatment showed reduction of length of stay and costs in preterm infants: This systematic review and meta-analysis looked at the mean difference in length of stay and costs between osteopathy and alternative treatment group.  All studies reported no adverse events associated with OMT.  The review showed clinical effectiveness of OMT in reducing of length of stay and costs in a large population of preterm infants.

Authors:Lanaro D, Ruffini N, Manzotti A, Lista G. in: Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Mar;96(12):e6408.

Nice to see emerging data on osteopathic care of pre-term infants – something we cover on our Paediatric Diploma in Osteopathy at the Osteopathic Centre for Children, London.