Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment as an Intervention to Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in First Responders: A Pilot Study

Abstract

In this pilot study, we examined the efficacy of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) for improving symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression (SAD) to determine a correlation between overall improvement in health and quality of life for first responders. Participants received weekly OMT or sham OMT targeting autonomic imbalance. Indicators of SAD were examined pre- and post-study. Overall, this pilot study suggests improvement in both the social-psychological (mental) self-assessments, and alterations in SAD-associated biomarkers from OMT.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of OMT-based therapeutic protocol. Blood sampling and self-reported social-psychological (mental) assessment surveys were collected on weeks 1 and 6. The OMT or Sham OMT protocol was performed once per week on weeks 1–5.

Figure 2

Mean values of self-reported social-psychological (mental assessments of stress and anxiety were performed using the following scales and surveys collected on week 1 (Pre) and week 6 (Post). A. Work Satisfaction (scale of 1–7) B. Vicarious Trauma (scale of 1–10), C. Positive Coping Mechanisms (mean total), D. Negative Coping Mechanisms (Mean total), E. Perceived Stress Scale.

Figure 3

Serum analysis of biomarkers of stress and anxiety before and after OMT. 5mL of whole blood was collected on week 1 (Pre) and week 6 (Post) from each participant. Biological indicators of stress and anxiety were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for measures of: A. IL-6, B. BDNF, C. IL-2, D. hCRP, E. IL-17α, F. Cortisol. Samples were analyzed in triplicate and group means are reported along with +/− SE of the mean.