Can oscillations as part of an osteopathic treatment reduce the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis? A single case study.
Item
- Title
- Can oscillations as part of an osteopathic treatment reduce the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis? A single case study.
- Author(s)
- Brown, A
- Abstract
- Background: Multiple Sclerosis affects a large number of people in the UK, with a variety of symptoms, including spasticity and muscle fasciculations Whilst there are many studies investigating the effects of pharmacological interventions upon the symptoms of MS, there is little research into non-pharmacological intervention. As spasticity and muscle fasciculations have limited pharmacological treatment available, and massage and TENS machine use has been found to have some effect on spasticity in MS, it is of interest to find out if osteopathic treatment could be of use to MS patients. This study particularly focused on oscillation technique, due to its role in reducing muscle tone through neurological entrainment. Objective: Can osteopathic treatment, involving oscillation treatment, provide symptomatic relief for patients with Multiple Sclerosis from muscle fasciculations, or effect a change in the muscle fasciculations in terms of frequency and severity? Design: 10-week single case study of ABAB design. Methods: Participant was a 52-year-old female with relapsing-.remitting MS Inclusion criteria: Diagnosis of relapse-remitting Multiple Sclerosis, regular contact with MS nurse, taking recommended medication, reporting regular muscle fasciculations in the lower extremity. Exclusion criteria: Relapse, significant worsening of symptoms. Participant completed daily diary for 10 weeks recording symptoms. 2 weeks' control with no intervention was followed by 3 weeks' weekly treatment, and then repeated. Results: There was a clinical improvement in instances of fasciculations (39.68 % reduction) though this was not statistically significant. There was no change in perceived severity or wellbeing, or cognitive function. Stress was found to have a possible influence on the symptoms under investigation, though the data for stress could not be analysed for statistical significance. Discussion: The findings were consistent with the literature where physical intervention in MS gave clinical improvement in symptoms, of no statistical significance. Wellbeing in MS was found to be affected by increasing disability, although some studies suggested wellbeing and physical functioning are not linked at all, and stress was found to exacerbate MS symptoms in the majority of wider literature. Conclusion: Osteopathic treatment involving oscillations gave this individual participant some statistically insignificant improvement in MS symptoms in terms of how often she experienced fasciculations in her lower extremities.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2015
- Date Submitted
- 2.12.2016 16:54:59
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15884
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Multiple Sclerosis, Osteopathic treatment, Oscillations, muscle
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Brown, A, “Can oscillations as part of an osteopathic treatment reduce the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis? A single case study.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed April 23, 2025, https://library.wso.at/s/orw/item/597