Osteopathy & Asthma

           At this time of year there are often patients, both children and adults that present to the clinic who have been diagnosed as having asthma. Whilst Osteopaths in no way treat conditions; asthma or otherwise, we are very interested in treating people. Lauren Storey & Gina Guscott, Osteopaths at the Somacare Osteopathic Clinic in Harpenden explain how Osteopathic treatment can be helpful in managing asthma.

          Asthma has been defined medically as a ‘Chronic inflammatory disease, (which has) an associated hyper responsiveness that leads to recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing.’¹. There are thought to be many associated environmental and genetic links which lead to this response ² ³.  If you have these symptoms & suspect you may have asthma, you must see your primary care Doctor.

Once diagnosed, Osteopathy can help with the mechanical effects placed on your body by asthma. There have been recent studies which have looked at the ways in which Osteopathy can benefit the way in which your lungs function. Osteopathic treatment has been shown to increase the amount of air your lungs can hold and increase the amount your rib cage can expand to allow it to do this⁴. It has also been shown to improve the function of your diaphragm, the primary muscle used in breathing, enhance the clearing of airway secretions, and to possibly enhance autoimmune function⁴. Studies since this have then gone on to again show improvement in chest expansion and mobility⁵ and peak expiratory flow, the maximum speed at which you can forcefully breathe out⁶.

           How is it that Osteopath’s can help the lungs to function in this way? As Osteopaths we look at the structure of a patient’s body as we believe this is important to the way in which it functions. Using our hands we can gently enhance the movement within joints, soft tissues including muscles and fascia. We do this to help the body reach its full potential by removing any barriers preventing it working to its full potential. As Osteopaths we are also happy to discuss the varying ways in which asthma can be helped through lifestyle and environment.

                For further information as to how Osteopathy can help you, call Somacare Osteopathic Clinic on 01582 769411.

References    

1 As defined by Global iniative for asthma (GINA) in ‘Prevention of allergy and allergic asthma’ World health organisation (WHO) document based on WHO/WAO meeting Geneva January 2002

2 M Innes Asher, Alistair W Stewart, Javier Mallol, Stephen Montefort, Christopher KW Lai, Nadia Aït-Khaled, Joseph Odhiambo and The ISAAC Phase One Study Group. (2010) ‘Which population level environmental factors are associated with asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema? Review of the ecological analyses of ISAAC Phase One.’ Respiratory Research. 11:8

3 Miriam F. Moffatt, D.Phil., Ivo G. Gut, Ph.D., Florence Demenais, M.D., David P. Strachan, M.D., Emmanuelle Bouzigon, M.D., Ph.D., Simon Heath,Ph.D., Erika von Mutius, M.D., Martin Farrall, F.R.C.Path., Mark Lathrop, Ph.D., and William O.C.M. Cookson, (2010) A Large-Scale, Consortium-Based Genomewide Association Study of Asthma. New England Journal of Medicine. 363:1211-1221

4 WA Rowan and MP Rowane (1999) ‘An osteopathic approach to asthma’ Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. vol. 99 no. 5 259

5 SE. BOCKENHAUER, KN. JULLIARD, KIM SING LO, E HUANG, AM SHETH (2002) Quantifiable effects of osteopathic manipulative techniques on patients with chronic asthma. American Osteopath Association vol. 102 no. 7 371-375.

6 PA Guiney, R Chou, A Vianna, J Lovenheim (2005) Effects of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on Pediatric Patients With Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. vol. 105 no. 1 7-12