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Effects of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) in Lowering Perceived Stress in Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy Student Populations

Journal: The AAO Journal Date: 2014/11, 24(2):Pages: 13, type of study: randomized controlled trial

Free full text   (https://www.academyofosteopathy.org/aaoj)

Keywords:

medical students [402]
stress [82]
burnout [20]
psychologic disorders [1]
osteopathic manipulative treatment [2973]
OMT [2951]
medical schools [156]
USA [1086]
randomized controlled trial [710]

Abstract:

Introduction: Burnout, suicidal thoughts, and other conditions associated with stress are common among students in medical, dental, and pharmacy schools. These high-stress environments often lead to conditions affecting multiple body systems and impaired emotional and cognitive modalities. Physiologically, increased stress is related to a fall in secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), producing an environment in which otherwise healthy individuals are susceptible to disease. Osteopathic medicine, specifically osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), has historical roots in being used to treat patients holistically, ensuring that attention is paid to mind, body, and spirit. OMT, therefore, was hypothesized to reduce stress and increase sIgA among students in the health professions. Methods: A total of 102 study participants were deidentified and randomly assigned to 3 groups: directed treatment (DT), nondirected treatment (NDT), and control. Both the DT and NDT groups received 20 minutes of treatment specific to those groups once a week for 4 weeks with a 10-minute supine rest period posttreatment. DT consisted of treatments targeting core areas, and NDT primarily focused on noncore areas. Treatments were performed by trained second-year osteopathic medical students who were overseen by OMT faculty. All study participants completed electronic self-perceived stress scale (PSS) questionnaires weekly, including before (survey 0) and after (survey 5) the treatment period. They also provided sIgA saliva samples. Data were analyzed using retrospective independent sample t-tests. Results: The average change in PSS between surveys 1 and 4 and in sIgA levels between the DT and control groups significantly differed (CI=0.1 to 6.7, P=.044; CI=1.095-20.417, P=0.030, respectively). PSS between surveys 0 and 4 and sIgA between the NDT and control groups differed significantly (CI=1.6 to 11, P =.009; CI= 7.400-24.469, P=0.000). PSS between surveys 0 and 4 and sIgA between the NDT and DT groups significantly differed (CI=-.95 to -.27, P=.038). Conclusion: The DT and NDT groups demonstrated reduced physiological and perceived stress. A greater reduction in perceived stress was observed in the NDT group than the DT group. Osteopathic manipulative treatment was shown to be effective in reducing distress in health professions students. Further studies should investigate errors in treatment, differences between the curricula of different health professions schools, and the greater reduction of stress seen in the NDT population.


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