BMJ publishes new review supporting osteopathic care for management of Low Back Pain

There’s ‘promising evidence’ that osteopathy, the physical manipulation of the body’s tissues and bones, may relieve the pain associated with musculoskeletal conditions, finds a review of the available clinical evidence, published in the open-access journal BMJ Open.

The systematic review, which was widely picked up by national media including The Telegraph, reported on the use of osteopathy in a wide range of conditions, including acute and chronic non-specific low back pain, chronic non-specific neck pain, chronic non-cancer pain, primary headache, and IBS.

Analysis showed that osteopathy was more effective than other approaches in reducing pain and improving physical function in acute/chronic non-specific lower back and neck pain and in chronic pain.

The researchers said: ‘This overview suggests that [osteopathy] could be effective in the management of musculoskeletal disorders, specifically with regard to chronic non-specific low back pain and low back pain in pregnant women or those who have just had a baby.’

The authors also reported that no serious side effects were reported in those reviews in which they were evaluated.