The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 2004/08, 104(8):341. doi: 10.7556/jaoa.2004.104.8.337, type of study: ,ppt,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Full text    (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2004.104.8.337/html)

Keywords:

cranio-sacral osteopathy [231]
dermal blood flow [1]
pilot study [215]
pretest posttest design [240]

Abstract:

This is the first study to test the hypothesis that cranial OMT affects dermal oxygenation as measured by transcutaneous oximetry (TCOM). It also evaluates the feasibility of a sham cranial palpation design. This is an intrasubject design pilot study of 3 subjects. One TCOM electrode was placed on each of four different body regions per subject: Right Cheek (RC); Left Chest (LC); Right Upper Extremity (RUE); Left Lower Extremity (LLE). Measurements were taken once per minute during 30 minutes of cranial palpation by a nurse not trained in cranial OMT, followed by 30 minutes of cranial OMT administered by an osteopathic physician with 7 years of experience in cranial OMT. Time series data were analyzed by subject and by electrode site usng an ARIMA model: AR (Autoregression), IR (Integration), MA (Moving average). Dermal oxygenation was altered significantly more during cranial OMT (intervention) than during non-specific cranial palpation (sham) for 4/4 electrodes in one subject; 2/4 electrodes (RUE, LLE) in a second subject; and 2/4 (RC, LLE) electrodes in the third subject (p < 04). Transcutaneous oximetry measurements demonstrated an effect of cranial OMT on dermal blood flow as distinct from non-specific cranial palpation in LLE electrodes in each subject studied. Further studies using this research design with more subjects appears warranted.