What Makes an Osteopathic Treatment Effective From a Patient's Perspective: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe patients' perspectives on their experience in osteopathic treatment, to contribute toward developing interpretative models on effectiveness. METHODS: A descriptive phenomenological approach was used. The data were collected through a semistructured interview. To capture the variability of the phenomenon, a purposive sample of 12 participants with previous experience of osteopathic care was selected. The data analysis was carried out in an inductive way, and it was parallel to the recruitment to continuously monitor the data saturation. RESULTS: Data saturation was reached with 12 participants (female = 9; male = 3). Participants' age ranged from 27 to 82 years old (mean: 55.25 ± 17.15; median: 59; kurtosis: -0.82). Participants had different reasons for consultation. The analysis showed 1 overarching theme, "Osteopathy is a path of awareness," 3 themes, and 12 categories. Themes were: (1) "The experience of pain produces awareness of the need for care," (2) "Osteopathy is a journey to be shared over time," and (3) "The effectiveness of the osteopathic treatment is the discovery of the person's unity by experience." CONCLUSION: Participants affirm that osteopathy is a path of awareness that starts from an experience of pain; leads them to contact an osteopath; and ends with their experience of the unity of body, mind, and spirit.

Evaluation of New Zealand osteopathy patients experiences of their treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the experiences of patients seeking osteopathy treatment in New Zealand; and to describe their perceptions of osteopathic treatment. DESIGN: Survey-based research design. SETTING: Private osteopathy practices. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic survey and the Patient Perception Measure-Osteopathy (PPM-O). RESULTS: Twelve osteopaths were recruited as practitioners. Responses from 107 patients were analysed. Approximately 75% of patients reported receiving a 'mostly cranial' treatment approach. The majority of patients (96.2%) indicated that osteopathic treatment helped their condition. The most frequently experienced sensation was 'relaxed'. A positive relationship was observed between the PPM-O and demographic variables. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to report on New Zealand osteopathy patient's experience of their treatment. The sensations and emotions experienced are largely consistent with previous Australian research. Predominantly positive perceptions of osteopathic treatment were reported. The current study provides some evidence of the construct validity of the PPM-O in a New Zealand patient population.

Professional ballet dancers' experience of injury and osteopathic treatment in the UK: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: Professional dancers suffer significant musculoskeletal injuries during the course of their careers. Treatment-seeking behaviour is important in all patient populations, yet is rarely investigated amongst professional dancers. This qualitative study aimed to form a better understanding of how dancers decide to seek treatment, and in particular to explore their experiences of receiving osteopathic care for their injuries. METHODS: A qualitative study design using grounded theory was used as a methodological framework for data collection and analysis. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore professional dancers' experience of injury and decision-making to seek professional healthcare. RESULTS: Five themes were constructed that explain and describe dancers' experience of injuries and their views and perspectives of treatment, these were; the growing dancer, the fear factor, learning to cope, effective treatment, and returning autonomy. CONCLUSION: The personal development of each dancer consisted of an amalgam of internal and external pressures. These pressures combine with experiences of pain and injury to influence a dancer's decision-making behaviour when injured and deciding to seek treatment. The study also provide factors relevant in the effective treatment of dancers, and outlined participants' preference for a global physical approach to assessment and treatment of their musculoskeletal pain.

The patient experience of osteopathic healthcare.

BACKGROUND: Osteopathy in Australia is a primary care limited scope practice. Practitioner surveys suggest that patients present with chronic pain and receive manual therapies, exercise and lifestyle advice. Further research is required to deepen the understanding of this intervention from the perspective of patients. OBJECTIVE: To explore the experience of patients receiving osteopathic healthcare. DESIGN: Mixed methodology. METHOD: A quantitative survey of a convenience sample of patients was followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews in a purposive sample of respondents with chronic non-specific low back pain. The transcripts were analysed using a phenomenological approach. RESULTS: The survey results suggested directions of enquiry for the interviews. Eleven subjects were interviewed and reported commonalities in their clinical histories with multisystem co-morbidities. Four themes became apparent: patient decision-making, patient shared experiences of the osteopathic healthcare consultation, tailored patient-centred care, and therapeutic relationship in healthcare. CONCLUSION: This data suggests that patients experience osteopathic healthcare after trying other disciplines; that there are shared aspects of the consultations, with a thorough assessment, education about their condition, multiple manual therapies and lifestyle advice; that the experience is patient-centred and tailored to their context; and that the therapeutic relationship is a key aspect of the experience. These results reflect a number of aspects of osteopathic healthcare from workplace surveys.

Quality of life in patients referring to private osteopathic clinical practice: a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Health improvement is one of the main priorities of both public and private health systems. In recent years, more attention has been given to the use of complementary and alternative medicines, including osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), as possible effective interventions in increasing patients' health reported outcomes. With regard to OMT, very little research was focused on its effectiveness in enhancing health in the general population. OBJECTIVES: To explore the extent to which OMT is effective in improving quality of life in referring patients. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Private osteopathic clinical practices in Italy. INTERVENTIONS: 25 osteopaths from Central and Southern Italy participated in the study. Self-referred patients, with a diagnosed musculo-skeletal disorder and older than 18 years of age, who did not undergo any OMT session in the previous 12 months and/or contemporarily additional manual therapies were enrolled. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changing from baseline SF36 general health sub-domain scores was used as the study primary outcomes. RESULTS: 1000 patients with primary diagnosis of musculo-skeletal disorder were initially enrolled. 988 patients completed the study. After 4 weeks, mean general health score was 14.7 points higher (95% CI 13.9-15.6; Cohen's d=0.84). Similarly, physical and mental component scores increased (11.5; 95% CI 10.8-12.1; d=0.87 and 9.6; 95% CI 8.6-10.5; d=0.61 respectively). No association between SF36 domains and socio-demographic exposures was found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Positive changes on various quality of life dimensions were reported by patients receiving osteopathic treatment. The trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT01965678).

Sensations experienced and patients' perceptions of osteopathy in the cranial field treatment.

Osteopathy in the cranial field is an approach used by manual and physical therapists. However, there is minimal information in the literature about patient experiences of this treatment. The present study was undertaken to explore patients' experiences of osteopathy in the cranial field. Patients completed the Patient Perception Measure-Osteopathy in the Cranial Field and identified sensations they experienced during treatment. Additional measures of anxiety, depression, Satisfaction With Life, and Meaningfulness of Daily Activity were completed. The Patient Perception Measure-Osteopathy in the Cranial Field was internally consistent (Cronbach's α = .85). The most frequently experienced sensations of osteopathy in the cranial field patients were "relaxed," "releasing," and "unwinding." Satisfaction With Life and Meaningfulness of Daily Activity were positively associated with Patient Perception Measure-Osteopathy in the Cranial Field scores. Negative associations were observed between the Patient Perception Measure-Osteopathy in the Cranial Field and depression. Psychometric properties of the Patient Perception Measure-Osteopathy in the Cranial Field require further testing. The observed associations of Satisfaction With Life and depression with patients' perceptions of osteopathy in the cranial field treatment needs to be tested in larger clinical manual therapy cohorts.