Osteopathic manipulation medicine may reduce burnout in health care workers
Osteopathic manipulation medicine, or OMM, services may help to reduce stress and burnout among health care workers, a recent study found.
“Studies have shown that OMM can reduce high levels of stress in health care, and that it can reduce anxiety scores,” Ryan Schnautz, a medical student at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, said during his presentation at the American Osteopathic Association’s OMED conference. “We wanted to see if this could have an impact in addition to other treatments given, whether it’s mental health counseling, gifts of gratitude or other means.”
Schnautz additionally highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly worsened health care staff mentality and workloads. According to a prior study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 62.8% of responding physicians (n = 2,440) had at least one manifestation of burnout in 2021, up from 38.2% in 2020.
For the current study, Schnautz and colleagues analyzed data from medical students, residents, fellows and faculty at Doctors Hospital in Ohio who participated in the Ohio Health Osteopathic Manipulation Medicine (OMM) Service. The participants were given 20-minute sessions of OMM, which were individualized following a pre-session structural exam.
Schnautz and colleagues found that among the 68 participants who responded to follow-up surveys, 70.6% stated their stress was moderate or significant. Meanwhile, the two most common reasons for participants attending OMM services were:
- to reduce pain or muscular issues (73.5%); and
- to improve wellness and reduce stress (69.1%).
Following services, 98.5% of participants said that OMM had accomplished their goals, and 92.6% were extremely satisfied with it.
Study limitations that Schnautz and colleagues faced included a lack of a control group due to the individualized nature of OMM, as well as the small sample size of participants who attended each service.
Schnautz concluded that the results build upon previous research suggesting that OMM could be used as a “modem” for burnout reduction. In addition, the data could help improve OMM service settings through the implementation of streamlining and varied service times.
“Further research on this topic is warranted to examine any possible relationships that certain techniques may have over each other on stress and burnout,” he said.
References:
- Shanafelt T, et al. Mayo Clin Proc. 2022;doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2022.09.002
- Schnaultz R, et al. Reduction in stress among frontline healthcare workers receiving osteopathic manipulation. Presented at: OMED22; Oct. 27-31, 2022; Boston.