Lorenzo Arcuri1, Giacomo Consorti2,3, Marco Tramontano4,5, Marco Petracca6, Jorge Eduardo Esteves1, Christian Lunghi7,8. 1. Malta ICOM Educational, Gżira, Malta. 2. Education Department of Osteopathy, Istituto Superiore di Osteopatia, Milan, Italy. 3. Foundation COME Collaboration, Pescara, Italy. 4. Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome, Italy. 5. Centre Pour L'Etude, la Recherche et la Diffusion Ostéopathiques, Rome, Italy. 6. Osteopathic Service, Osteobimbo Paediatric Clinic, Rome, Italy. 7. Malta ICOM Educational, Gżira, Malta. christianlunghi@gmail.com. 8. Foundation COME Collaboration, Pescara, Italy. christianlunghi@gmail.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite controversy regarding its validity and clinical usefulness, manual examination findings still have an important role for manipulative therapies. As an example, somatic dysfunction (SD) remains central to osteopathic practice.This study aims to explore the experienced osteopaths' attitudes concerning SD and its role in osteopathic practice. This qualitative research could contribute to building a consistent paradigm for manual intervention in all musculoskeletal manipulations. METHODS: A thematic analysis with grounded theory elements was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews carried out between February and April 2021. A purposive sample of twenty professional osteopaths with past experience in osteopathic care was chosen to reflect the phenomenon's variety. The data analysis was done inductively and in tandem with the recruiting to keep track of data saturation. RESULTS: Eleven osteopaths participated in the study. Three main themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) SD as a safe tissue-touch-based communication tool between operator and person complex adaptive health system; (2) The treatment of SD is shareable between osteopaths, other health professionals, and the patients involved in the therapeutic pathway improving body awareness and health; (3) The development of the SD concept in research and practice to better clarify osteopathic profession identity and definition. CONCLUSIONS: A panel of expert osteopaths consider the concept of SD as a valuable tool integrated into the osteopathic evaluation and treatment process. The shared concept and clinical application of SD is informed by person-centered care concepts and from the fields of neuroscience, cognitive and complexity science. Our study reports a common need among osteopaths to develop an evidence-based framework of SD to allow the best development of the osteopathic profession.
BACKGROUND: Despite controversy regarding its validity and clinical usefulness, manual examination findings still have an important role for manipulative therapies. As an example, somatic dysfunction (SD) remains central to osteopathic practice.This study aims to explore the experienced osteopaths' attitudes concerning SD and its role in osteopathic practice. This qualitative research could contribute to building a consistent paradigm for manual intervention in all musculoskeletal manipulations. METHODS: A thematic analysis with grounded theory elements was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews carried out between February and April 2021. A purposive sample of twenty professional osteopaths with past experience in osteopathic care was chosen to reflect the phenomenon's variety. The data analysis was done inductively and in tandem with the recruiting to keep track of data saturation. RESULTS: Eleven osteopaths participated in the study. Three main themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) SD as a safe tissue-touch-based communication tool between operator and person complex adaptive health system; (2) The treatment of SD is shareable between osteopaths, other health professionals, and the patients involved in the therapeutic pathway improving body awareness and health; (3) The development of the SD concept in research and practice to better clarify osteopathic profession identity and definition. CONCLUSIONS: A panel of expert osteopaths consider the concept of SD as a valuable tool integrated into the osteopathic evaluation and treatment process. The shared concept and clinical application of SD is informed by person-centered care concepts and from the fields of neuroscience, cognitive and complexity science. Our study reports a common need among osteopaths to develop an evidence-based framework of SD to allow the best development of the osteopathic profession.
Authors: Francesco Cerritelli; Piero Chiacchiaretta; Francesco Gambi; Antonio Ferretti Journal: Front Hum Neurosci Date: 2017-07-20 Impact factor: 3.169
Authors: Francesco Cerritelli; Piero Chiacchiaretta; Francesco Gambi; Mauro Gianni Perrucci; Giovanni Barassi; Christian Visciano; Rosa Grazia Bellomo; Raoul Saggini; Antonio Ferretti Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2020-02-21 Impact factor: 4.379