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Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) as an Adjunctive Treatment in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Journal: The AAO Journal Date: 2025/09, 35(3):Pages: 7-8. doi: Subito , type of study: cohort study

Full text    (https://aaoj.kglmeridian.com/view/journals/aaoj/35/3/article-p6.xml)

Keywords:

cohort study [80]
depression [62]
major depressive disorder [1]
OMT [3695]
osteopathic manipulative treatment [3717]

Abstract:

Background: Major Depressive Disorder affects 5% of adults worldwide and symptoms often manifest somatically as changes in weight or appetite, psychomotor features, energy loss, sleep disturbances, and muscle tension. Current treatment guidelines include pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and somatic therapies that do not include OMT, for which the literature is limited. We hypothesized that adjunctive OMT with traditional antidepressant therapy will reduce depressive symptom severity. This line of research could demonstrate a need to update current treatment guidelines for MDD. Methods: This unblinded prospective cohort study included participants ages 18 – 65 years with an MDD diagnosis and a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score ≥10. Participants were recruited via a database and consented under an Institutional Review Board protocol. Symptom severity was assessed using the PHQ-9 and Somatic Symptom Scale – 8 (SSS-8) at baseline, mid-study, and post-study. Osteopathic treatment was administered once/week for 8 weeks. Data were summarized using means, standard deviations, maximums, and minimums. Two one-way ANOVAs compared depression and somatic scores before, during, and after treatment. Results: Fifteen participants were included in the study and although no significant decreases were found in somatic symptoms, there was a significant decrease in depression symptoms from baseline (mean =15.43) to post-study scores (mean = 6.9; p < 0.001). Conclusions: OMT may be a helpful adjunctive therapy to traditional antidepressants for overall depressive symptom reduction. Despite a small sample size, there was a statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms as scored by the PHQ-9, indicating a classification change from moderate to mild MDD. Further research is needed to investigate patient-specific OMT effects on both depressive and somatic symptoms. Additionally, broader studies are needed to determine when OMT is clinically indicated for MDD management.


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