A pilot study from Italy investigated the influence of osteopathic manipulative treatment on 20 patients with chronic tension headaches and compared the results with the success of traditional treatment methods. Additionally, forward head posture was utilized as an indicator of treatment success. The results demonstrate a significant improvement in pain intensity, frequency, and duration. Head posture also showed marked improvement. Osteopathic manipulative treatments proved highly effective and are considered a valuable adjunct to pharmacological treatments in the management of chronic tension-type headaches.
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Methods: A parallel in-vitro study design was used, with a treatment group and a control group of dermal fibroblasts. The control group received only cyclic short-term loading, while the treatment group received acyclic long-term stretching (simulating a soft tissue technique) in addition to short-term loading. IL-6 and IL-8 were measured after 24 and 96 hours using the ELISA method.Results : In the control group, cyclic mechanical loading increased IL-6 levels. In the treatment group, which subsequently received long-term stretching, this led to reduced IL-6 levels. Additionally, the researchers found that long-term stretching also leads to decreased IL-8 levels. The authors also point out that experimental models cannot be directly transferred to the human organism and recommend further research in this area. Furthermore, they emphasize that the effectiveness of soft tissue techniques is not solely based on the stretching of fibroblasts, but also involves sensory, cognitive, thermal, neurovascular, lymphatic, autonomic, neuro-hormonal-endocrine, psychosocial, and emotional components (Anloague, Mahoney, Ogunbekun, et al., 2020). Bibliography: Anloague A, Mahoney A, Ogunbekun O, et al. Mechanical stimulation of human dermal fibroblasts regulates pro-inflammatory cytokines: Potential insight into soft tissue manual therapies. BMC Res Notes. 2020;13(1):1-6.
