Background: The Informational Manual Therapy (IMT) is a therapeutic touch. This study aims to assess the effect of IMT on quiet standing, pain and health status in university population.
Methods: An experiment was conducted on subjects utilizing a comparative paired analysis both before and after the intervention. One IMT session was performed on 57 healthy individuals aged from 18 to 65 years. The primary outcome was quiet standing assessed by the Satel 40 Hz stabilometric force platform. Secondary outcomes were bodily pain assessed by the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) and health status by EQ-5D-3L. The primary outcome was evaluated before and immediately after treatment.
Results: The individuals were divided into 3 age groups, 18-35 (52.6%), 35-50 (29.8%) and 51-65 (17.6%). Statistically significant differences were immediately observed after the session ended when comparing the pre-post quiet stance scores in a number of length parameters: L, Lx, Ly and stabilometry amplitude on Y-axis with eyes open and closed. Significant differences were also found when testing bodily pain (SF-36) and anxiety (5Q-5D-3L).
Conclusion: One session of IMT produced positive effects when testing quiet standing with eyes open and eyes closed, as well as a significant reduction in pain and anxiety for those tested. Further research is suggested.
Keywords: manual therapy; pain and health status; quiet stand; standing balance; therapeutic touch.