The effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative treatment as complementary therapy following surgery: a prospective, match-controlled outcome study.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment has been reported to relieve a variety of conditions, but no studies have examined the outcome effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment as a complementary modality for treating musculoskeletal problems during postoperative recovery.To assess osteopathic manipulative treatment as a complementary therapy for patients undergoing elective knee or hip arthroplasty.Prospective, single-blinded, 2-group, match-controlled outcome study.Osteopathic teaching hospital.Of 166 eligible patients, 38 were assigned to a treatment group and matched with 38 control subjects.The treatment group received osteopathic manipulative treatment on postoperative days 2 through 5.Days to independent negotiation of stairs, distance ambulated, supplemental intramuscular analgesic use, length of hospital stay, and patients' perceptions of treatment.Compared to control subjects, the intervention group negotiated stairs 20% earlier (mean = 4.3 postoperative days, SD = 1.2; control subjects 5.4, SD = 1.6, P = .006) and ambulated 43% farther on the third postoperative day (mean = 24.3 m, SD = 18.3; controls = 13.9, SD = 14.4, P = .008). The intervention group also required less analgesia, had shorter hospital stays, and ambulated farther on postoperative days 1, 2, and 4.Patients receiving osteopathic manipulative treatment in the early postoperative period negotiated stairs earlier and ambulated greater distances than did control group patients.