A recent study from 2022 examined patient perceptions of osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) and its impact as an additional intervention to standard palliative care, which seeks to maximize the quality of life of affected patients by improving symptom management. OMT offers a non-pharmacological approach to symptom relief. The primary outcome was to identify patient perceptions of the effectiveness of OMT as a complementary adjunct to standard palliative treatments. Secondary outcomes examined the development of OMT outcomes in relation to the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System.For those interested in the exact data:Outcomes of standard palliative care (=control group) were compared with those who also received OMT (=intervention group). The evaluation of the assessments before and after the respective treatments was conducted using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). In addition, patient perceptions of the effectiveness of the additional OMT were investigated.Results: In total, 38 patients received a standard palliative intervention and 9 patients received additional OMT. In the control group, the symptom burden, particularly fatigue and depression, decreased significantly. Due to the small sample size in the intervention group, no statistically significant results were obtained. Nevertheless, there was a clear trend in all described symptoms except anxiety following treatment with OMT. Regarding patient perceptions of OMT, 71% felt that OMT had a positive impact on overall care, 57% felt that OMT improved pain, and 71% reported an improvement in non-pain symptoms. Conclusion: Although statistical significance was not reached, the results strongly suggest the potential of OMT in palliative care. This could be confirmed by further, larger studies in this area (Terra et al. 2022). References: Terra A, Derrick J, Westfall E, et al. Patient Perceptions of Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT) and Impact of OMT on Symptom Outcomes When Added to Standard Palliative Intervention. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022;63(5):875-876
Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT) in Palliative Care
A recent study in 2022 examined patient perceptions of osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) and its impact as an additional intervention to standard palliative care, which seeks to maximize the quality of life of affected patients by improving symptom management. OMT offers a non-pharmacological approach to symptom relief. The primary outcome was to identify patient perceptions of the effectiveness of OMT as a complementary adjunct to standard palliative treatments. Secondary outcomes examined the development of OMT outcomes in relation to the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System.For those interested in the exact data:Outcomes of standard palliative care (=control group) were compared with those who also received OMT (=intervention group). The evaluation of the assessments before and after the respective treatments was conducted using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). In addition, patient perceptions of the effectiveness of the additional OMT were investigated.Results: In total, 38 patients received a standard palliative intervention and 9 patients received additional OMT. In the control group, the symptom burden, particularly fatigue and depression, decreased significantly. Due to the small sample size in the intervention group, no statistically significant results were obtained. Nevertheless, there was a clear trend in all described symptoms except anxiety following treatment with OMT. Regarding patient perceptions of OMT, 71% felt that OMT had a positive impact on overall care, 57% felt that OMT improved pain, and 71% reported an improvement in non-pain symptoms.Conclusion: Although statistical significance was not reached, the results strongly suggest the potential of OMT in palliative care. This could be confirmed by further, larger studies in this area (Terra et al. 2022). References: Terra A, Derrick J, Westfall E, et al. Patient Perceptions of Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT) and Impact of OMT on Symptom Outcomes When Added to Standard Palliative Intervention. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022;63(5):875-876
