Osteopathic Manipulation May Improve Balance and Reduce Oxidative Stress in Parkinson`s

By Rob Goodier

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Osteopathic manipulation of the spine and limbs may improve balance and reduce oxidative stress in Parkinson's patients, a pilot study suggests.

"We are continuing to collect data to see if it will help with increasing activity and decreasing the incidence of falls in the PD population," co-author Nardine Mikhail, a medical student at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, told Reuters Health.

Mikhail presented the findings November 14 at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego, California.

In a crossover study, 11 Parkinson's patients were randomly assigned to osteopathic manipulation or counseling for 10 weeks. In the treatment arm, patients underwent 30-minute biweekly sessions of manipulation targeting the cervical and thoracic spine and the limbs, Mikhail said.

The researchers found improvement in balance, according to the mini-BESTest, and a nearly 50% reduction in oxidative stress against lipids. The oxidative stress data are still preliminary, part of a study of biomarkers in plasma.

"Our study was a pilot study with limited subjects, so it is still too early to make any generalized recommendations. However prior studies, have shown some improvement in balance, posture and gait in PD patients after osteopathic manipulation," Mikhail told Reuters Health.

This pilot study is being expanded into a full clinical study, Mikhail said.

SOURCE: https://bit.ly/1QC3Dmv

Society for Neuroscience 2016.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Click For Restrictions - https://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp