Posts by: Patrick van Dun

Persistent low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint among women during and after pregnancy, and its effects on quality of life can be disabling. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMTh; manipulative care provided by foreign-trained osteopaths) in women with persistent LBP and functional disability after childbirth … MORE

The Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA) released a report in 2013 entitled, ‘Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine. A global view of practice, patients, education and the contribution to healthcare delivery’. The report was widely circulated by the statutory regulator in New Zealand. It is said to be a representative document by the OIA. Two osteopathic professional streams were identified – osteopathic physicians (and surgeons) and osteopaths. Other than by ancestry, it is apparent that these two streams are not comparable. The claim of a shared ‘core practice’ between the streams is not upheld by the data, which also appear to indicate a dichotomy between a claim of evidence-based practice and the nature of practice itself … ABSTRACT

Intervertebral motion is commonly assessed by manual therapy practitioners during clinical evaluation and treatment. Mechanoreceptor activity elicited during spinal manipulation has been theorized as a potential mechanism of its efficacy. The degree to which intervertebral fixation and segmental thrust level alter paraspinal muscle spindle activity during high velocity low amplitude spinal manipulation (HVLA-SM) is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether intervertebral facet joint fixation and segmental thrust level alter paraspinal muscle spindle activity during simulated spinal manipulation … ABSTRACT

Very little is known about the kinematics of the upper cervical spine in particular during manual techniques. In fact no data about displacement of the atlanto-axial joint during High-Velocity Low-Amplitude (HVLA) thrust are available. Knowing the precise kinematics of these vertebrae might allow a better comprehension of such important technique and possible vital structures involvement. A Zebris CMS20 ultrasound-based motion tracking system was adopted. Twenty fresh human cervical specimens were used in this study. Facet joint displacements of C1 relative to C2 were analysed during three consecutive HVLA thrusts into rotation. Displacement during the thrust and the maximum displacement reached with the manoeuvre were analysed … ABSTRACT

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) requires a complex diagnostic and therapeutic approach, which usually involves a multidisciplinary management. Among these treatments, musculoskeletal manual techniques are used to improve health and healing. The objective of ties systematic review with meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of musculoskeletal manual approach in temporomandibular joint disorder patients … ABSTRACT

The clinical reasoning strategies employed in healthcare have been well established in a wide range of health professions. Currently, there is little literature pertaining to the diagnostic process of osteopaths and the clinical reasoning strategies utilised in osteopathy. The aim of this study was to investigate the processes of clinical reasoning utilised by osteopaths in the diagnostic hypothesis generation for patients with acute low back pain … ABSTRACT

Touch is the process by which one person physically contacts another individual and as such plays an integral role in osteopathic practice. Osteopathic practitioners use touch in almost every aspect of care including examination, diagnosis and treatment. Although touch is intrinsic to osteopathic practice, there has been no published research to date that qualifies the experience of osteopathic touch within a treatment session. The aim of this phenomenological study was to examine and describe the patient’s experience of touch during a consultation with an osteopathic practitioner … ABSTRACT

The American Osteopathic Association requires the integration of osteopathic principles and practice in all specialty residency training programs that it accredits, but the 4 residencies with the most integration of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) have differences in training and emphasis on OMM as a primary treatment modality. The objective of this study was to study differences in OMM use for spinal pain between the neuro-musculoskeletal medicine/OMM (NMM/OMM), the family practice/osteopathic manipulative treatment (FP/OMT), the integrated FP/OMT and NMM/OMM (FP/NMM), and the internal medicine and NMM/OMM (IM/NMM) specialty residency training programs … ABSTRACT

It is widely recognised that multiple forms of assessment are required in order to make decisions about learner competency and fitness-to-practice. One assessment tool that is gaining popularity in the Australian allied health professions is the global clinical competency assessment … The objective of this study was to explore the applicability of an adaptation of the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice in an osteopathic context. The study presents pilot data and discussion about the adaptation of a workplace-based assessment tool – the Osteopathic Clinical Practice Assessment (OCPA) … ABSTRACT

One of the characteristics of the central nervous system is the lack of a classical lymphatic drainage system. Although it is now accepted that the central nervous system undergoes constant immune surveillance that takes place within the meningeal compartment, the mechanisms governing the entrance and exit of immune cells from the central nervous system remain poorly understood … The discovery of the central nervous system lymphatic system may call for a reassessment of basic assumptions in neuroimmunology and sheds new light on the aetiology of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases associated with immune system dysfunction … ABSTRACT