OSTEOPATHY AND ATHLETES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EFFECTIVENESS IN SPORTS MEDICINE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69980/s.v1i1.2558Keywords:
Osteopathy, Athletes, Sports Medicine, Systematic Review, Performance Enhancement,Injury preventionAbstract
Background: Osteopathy has gained increasing recognition as a complementary therapeutic approach in sports medicine, with athletes seeking osteopathic treatment for injury prevention, performance enhancement, and rehabilitation. However, the evidence base for osteopathic interventions in athletic populations requires systematic evaluation.
Objective: To systematically review the effectiveness of osteopathic interventions in athletes, examining outcomes related to injury prevention, performance enhancement, pain reduction, and functional improvement.
Methods: A comprehensive systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PEDro, and SPORTDiscus were searched from inception to December 2024. Studies were included if they examined osteopathic interventions in athletes aged 16 years or older, with primary outcomes including injury rates, pain scores, functional measures, and performance indicators. Two independent reviewers conducted study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment using appropriate risk of bias tools.
Results: Forty-seven studies met inclusion criteria, encompassing 3,247 athletes across various sports disciplines. The studies included 23 randomized controlled trials, 15 cohort studies, and 9 case-control studies. Osteopathic interventions demonstrated significant benefits in pain reduction (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.72, 95% CI: -0.95 to -0.49, p < 0.001), functional improvement (SMD = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.41 to 0.95, p < 0.001), and injury prevention (risk ratio = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.58 to 0.94, p = 0.014). Performance enhancement outcomes showed moderate positive effects across multiple domains.
Results: This systematic review provides evidence supporting the effectiveness of osteopathic interventions in athletic populations. The findings suggest that osteopathic treatment can contribute to pain management, functional improvement, and injury prevention in athletes. However, methodological heterogeneity and varying outcome measures across studies limit the strength of conclusions. Future research should focus on standardized outcome measures and longer follow-up periods.
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