Investigating the impact of osteopathic manual medicine on symptoms in mood disorders
Description
Human touch has historically been avoided within psychiatry, leaving few studies investigating the impact of Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM) on mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. This non-randomized pilot study evaluates the effects of brief adjunctive OMM on mood symptoms in adults with anxiety and/or depression. Our hypothesis is that patients who receive OMM in conjunction with psychotherapy and/or medication management will: 1) have improved mood symptoms after OMM, and 2) have fewer mood symptoms than case control patients who receive standard care without OMM.
This study recruited adults with anxiety and/or depression receiving treatment in an outpatient behavioral health clinic to undergo three OMM sessions over six weeks. PHQ-9, GAD-7, and symptom-specific ratings (e.g., sleep, irritability) were collected at each session. OMM was performed to the thoracic inlet and superior structures.
31 patients are enrolled in the intervention arm, with 23 patients having completed all three OMM visits. Of these, 12 patients elected to continue treatments after completing the study. Data collection is ongoing, with analyses planned for October 2025 and results included in the proposed poster presentation. Data analysis will evaluate within-subjects change in symptoms of depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) using paired samples t-tests. Changes in symptom-specific ratings before and after each OMM session will also be evaluated. Further, we will conduct independent samples t-tests, comparing PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores of OMM recipients to case controls (n=30). We hope our findings spur further investigation of the utilization of OMM as an adjunctive treatment for mood disorders.
Citation Information
Hunt, Regan; White, Tiffani; Van Liew, Julia R.; and Brunia, Autumn, "Investigating the impact of osteopathic manual medicine on symptoms in mood disorders" (2026). Office of Research DMU Research Symposium. 31.
https://digitalcommons.dmu.edu/researchsymposium/2025rs/2025abstracts/31
Investigating the impact of osteopathic manual medicine on symptoms in mood disorders
Human touch has historically been avoided within psychiatry, leaving few studies investigating the impact of Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM) on mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. This non-randomized pilot study evaluates the effects of brief adjunctive OMM on mood symptoms in adults with anxiety and/or depression. Our hypothesis is that patients who receive OMM in conjunction with psychotherapy and/or medication management will: 1) have improved mood symptoms after OMM, and 2) have fewer mood symptoms than case control patients who receive standard care without OMM.
This study recruited adults with anxiety and/or depression receiving treatment in an outpatient behavioral health clinic to undergo three OMM sessions over six weeks. PHQ-9, GAD-7, and symptom-specific ratings (e.g., sleep, irritability) were collected at each session. OMM was performed to the thoracic inlet and superior structures.
31 patients are enrolled in the intervention arm, with 23 patients having completed all three OMM visits. Of these, 12 patients elected to continue treatments after completing the study. Data collection is ongoing, with analyses planned for October 2025 and results included in the proposed poster presentation. Data analysis will evaluate within-subjects change in symptoms of depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) using paired samples t-tests. Changes in symptom-specific ratings before and after each OMM session will also be evaluated. Further, we will conduct independent samples t-tests, comparing PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores of OMM recipients to case controls (n=30). We hope our findings spur further investigation of the utilization of OMM as an adjunctive treatment for mood disorders.
