Context: Low back pain (LBP) is a painful pathology causing pain and disability despite treatment with the best evidence-based therapies. Osteopathic manual therapy (OMT) and Kaltenborn-Evjenth orthopedic manual therapy (KEOMT) are alternative treatments for LBP.
Objective: The study intended to evaluate the efficacy of OMT compared to that of KEOMT for patients with chronic LBP.
Design: The research team designed a randomized study.
Setting: The study was held at the Medita Health Center in Warsaw, Poland.
Participants: The study included 68 participants of both genders, aged 30 to 60, with chronic LBP.
Intervention: Participants were randomly assigned to one of two parallel groups, each with 34 members. The OMT group received, as a direct technique, a high-velocity/low-amplitude (HVLA) impulse, and as indirect techniques, strain counterstrain (SCS), myofascial release (MFR), and visceral mobilization therapy (VMT). The KEOMT group received lumbar segmental traction and lumbar segmental mobilization-flexion and gliding therapy grade 3. The participants in both groups received 10 treatments, two per week for five weeks.
Outcome measures: The primary outcome was pain severity, using a numeric pain rating scale (NPRS). The secondary outcome was measurement of functional disability, using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).
Results: The OMT and KEOMT both decreased pain and disability; however, the changes on the NPRS and ODI postintervention were statistically greater for the OMT group compared to the KEOMT group (P < .05).
Conclusions: OMT was better at reducing pain and improving quality of life. It reduced functional disability more than KEOMT in patients with chronic LBP.