The Role of Osteopathic Practice in Multimodal Osteoarthritis Care of the Hip or Knee

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the second most prevalent cause of Musculoskeletal disorders, affecting 343 million people across the globe. Despite the nearly 50 non-pharmacological treatment modalities presented today, the research available, at present, omits incorporating osteopathic treatments into research protocols, and fails to contribute with evidence showing if treatments presented enhance the general effectiveness of rehabilitation in decreasing pain and disability in patients subjected to OA. METHODS: A literature review based on searches in the following databases: CINAHL, COCHRANE, OVID and PubMed were conducted. All data was processed by the authors independently and subsequently agreed on in terms of relevance for the objectives of the review. RESULT: Ultimately seven articles published between 2004 to 2018 were assessed. Three studies aimed to investigate interventions for OA of the knee alone, three involved both the osteoarthritic hip and knee, while one studied OA of the hip exclusively, but the main focus area remained the same, measuring pain severity and physical function. Six of them were randomized controlled trials, while one of them was a longitudinal study. CONCLUSION: Research suggests that OMT can have a beneficial effect in the management of hip and knee OA, however, the presence of osteopathic interventions is as of today very poor in research available and further research is needed to determine the effects of OMT in multimodal clinical practice.