Research Digest

1. Reconceptualizing the therapeutic alliance in osteopathic practice: Integrating insights from phenomenology, psychology and enactive inference

   This review presents key concepts from neurophysiology, phenomenology, psychology, and narrative medicine which underpin a developing enactive-ecological framework for osteopathic practice. This framework aims to provides a coherent theoretical basis for understanding healthcare processes and outcomes, based on the neuroscience principles of active inference and enactivism. It offers insights into factors that influence patients’ pain […]

2. Professional identity in osteopathy: A scoping review of peer-reviewed primary osteopathic research

   This review aimed to explore peer-reviewed primary osteopathic research for evidence to advance understanding of osteopathic professional identity and its development … MORE

3. A long COVID patient and their experience of osteopathic care: A case report

   Long COVID is an emerging syndrome that is poorly understood in terms of aetiology, symptom picture, treatment and prognosis. This case report contributes a twelve-month history of a female patient’s experience of Long COVID and her motivation for, experience of and response to osteopathic care. The decision to write a case report was made retrospectively, with […]

4. Exploring lumbo-pelvic functional behaviour patterns during osteopathic motion tests: A biomechanical (en)active inference approach to movement analysis

   Observing how individuals actively adapt to their environment may provide additional insights into traditional clinical tests. Rather than using tests that only identify joint mobility limitations, it seems relevant to use clinical motion tests that assess global biomechanical functions more generally and identify functional behaviours. This study explores whether different functional kinematic behaviour patterns appear when […]

5. Does the inter-osseous membrane fascial dysfunction exist ? An observational study comparing palpation to ultrasound measurements

   There is a lack of evidence to support a correspondence between osteopathic palpation and anatomical findings. The concept of dysfunction could be defined using more accurate words when describing palpatory findings if they could be explained by objective measurements. The forearm Interosseous Membrane (IOM) is a fascia often evaluated by osteopaths, searching for Fascial Dysfunction […]

6. Chronic Pain, Insomnia and their Mutual Maintenance: A Call for Cognitive Bias Research

   Chronic pain and insomnia are highly comorbid: Approximately 50% of those with chronic pain experience insomnia or clinically significant sleep disturbances, and 50% of those with insomnia experience chronic pain. Further, these conditions can be extremely disabling, particularly when they co-occur. There is increasing recognition of the need to tackle both chronic pain and insomnia […]

7. Association of sleep quality and chronification of musculoskeletal pain in an older adult: A case report

   Sleep disorders and chronic musculoskeletal pain are highly prevalent conditions that are often comorbid clinically. The role of sleep disorder on the chronification of musculoskeletal pain is well documented, although the mechanisms have not yet been fully established. The authors present a case study demonstrating the clinical comorbidity of sleep disorder with chronification of musculoskeletal pain […]

8. 4 M’s to make sense of evidence – Avoiding the propagation of mistakes, misinterpretation, misrepresentation and misinformation

   Osteopaths are expected to keep up to date with research evidence relevant to their clinical practice and to integrate this knowledge with their own experience and their patients’ values and preferences. One of the potential challenges when engaging with research is to make sense of it, to decide if it is trustworthy, and if it […]

9. Pre-manipulative cervical spine testing and sustained rotation do not influence intracranial hemodynamics: an observational study with transcranial Doppler ultrasound

   Manual joint mobilization and manipulation are recommended therapeutic interventions for people with neck pain. High-velocity thrust and sustained techniques have an uncertain association with serious arterial trauma. The validity of pre-manipulative tests of the cervical spine is often questioned, and the understanding of the effect of head/neck position on blood flow is still incomplete. Most […]

10. Impact of contextual factors on patient outcomes following conservative low back pain treatment: systematic review

    Chronic low back pain is pervasive, societally impactful, and current treatments only provide moderate relief. Exploring whether therapeutic elements, either unrecognised or perceived as implicit within clinical encounters, are acknowledged and deliberately targeted may improve treatment efficacy. Contextual factors (specifically, patient’s and practitioner’s beliefs/characteristics; patient-practitioner relationships; the therapeutic setting/environment; and treatment characteristics) could be important, but […]