Psychiatry and Osteopathic Medicine

[NAVYdoc07]

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Just curious if any one uses currently uses OMT in psychiatry (the last thread about this was in 2002)...

If so, what are the most common techniques you use and how have you seen it help?

If not, why?

 

[SukaNeNauka]

I am only a 3rd year medical student now, and doing psychiatry rotation. we do not do any OMM on any of our patients. I am not sure if it is a good idea to put your hands on a psyche patient, this can have unpredictable consequences.

 

[jay dub]

Just curious if any one uses currently uses OMT in psychiatry (the last thread about this was in 2002)...

If so, what are the most common techniques you use and how have you seen it help?

If not, why?

there was a more recent thread that touched on this...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=437736

hope that link works. i don't know of any DOs who are currently using OMT. i can't caution against it strongly enough. it's a very touchy (ha ha) subject. you are playing with major boundary crossings (if not overt violations) when you are in physical contact with psychiatric patients. hope this helps.

 

[strongson]

c'mon, you know cranial is money for any psych condition. . . .

I am only a 3rd year medical student now, and doing psychiatry rotation. we do not do any OMM on any of our patients. I am not sure if it is a good idea to put your hands on a psyche patient, this can have unpredictable consequences.

 

[futuredo32]

I know of one psychiatrist who does OMM with some of her patients. She does some psychotherapy and felt that OMM helped the patient to better express their feelings if there was a restriction.

 

[marie337]

I do know of one DO in town who uses a lot of biofeedback in her practice. I could see a lot of use for this and it falls in line with osteopathic principles.

 

[kstotes]

There is a lot of application for OMT in patients with psychiatric disorders. But by definition psych patients (and that includes run-of-the-mill mood d/o) have an impairment in their ability to interpret the world around them. Most psychiatrist do not do OMT but I think it is a very useful adjunct. Particularly when referred to an OMT specialist. This is especially true for the health-conscious, anti-pill patients that want to feel more in control of their treatment (in many countries outside the US, initial psych treatment is exercise... interesting)

The article you will see most cited is

Plotkin BJ, et al, JAOA, 09/01, 101, pg 517
Adjunctive osteopathic manipulative treatment in women with depression: a pilot study.

This article offers the perfect microcosm for osteopathy's plight in mainstream medicine:

The Good- PT's with depression are treated with psychotheraphy and Paxil with OMT as the control; the article cites excellent precedent for the relationship between psychiatric disorder and co-morbid non-psychiatric disorders; 70% of non-OMT PT did not resolve depressive sx; 100% of OMT patients did; also found that 1/2 of OMT patients experienced cranial rhythm normalization (impressive depending on how much you buy into cranial)

The Bad- N=17!!!; OMT was performed by medical students!!!; control = sham treatment = static exam

Point being- we are great at setting precedent but until we use the proper study designs necessary to publish in journals like NEJM and JAMA, OMT will languish. It's not enough to publish how awesome we are in the Journal of Osteopathy is Awesome.

Other good articles include:

Osborn G, AAO Journal, Spring 1994, pg 16
"Manual Medicine and its Role in Psychiatry"

Dunn FE, JAOA, 1950, 49, pg 354
"Osteopathic Concepts in Psychiatry"

Dunn FE, JAOA, 1948, 2, pg 196
"Osteopathic Management of Psychosomatic Problems"

Magoun HI, Osteopathic Annals, May, 1976, pg 206
"The Cranial Concept in General Practice"

Now just do a few searches into the applications of psychoneuroimmunology and you'll see just how osteopathically minded psychiatry is... all we need are some researchers dedicated to p-values and objective research.

Soap-box finished... whew.