Objective: To evaluate the effects of a pre-defined Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) treatment protocol (PARK-OMM) for 6 weeks compared to a 6-week controlled counseling period on motor function and balance in subjects with PD measured by the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (MiniBESTest), Sensory Organization Test (SOT), and The Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Part III scores.

Background: Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM), a therapy of manual forces directed to improve function and homeostasis, has been shown to improve postural instability in healthy elderly subjects, improve balance in individuals with dizziness, and improve gait in PD. This study was designed to determine if our pre-defined PARK-OMM protocol would improve motor function and balance in individuals with PD.

Methods: 10 subjects completed this study. 5 subjects (age 75 ± 16) completed the PARK-OMM protocol (6 weeks bi-weekly) and 5 subjects (age 70.8 ± 12.5) completed the control counseling (6 weeks bi-weekly). Inclusion criteria included: 1) diagnoses of PD by a neurologist 2) fit one of the following criteria: The Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Part III score of > 30, Sensory Organization Test (SOT) score of < 75, or Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) score of < 19. Subjects who had a history of other neurologic conditions or who were unable to complete the assessment tools were excluded. Subjects received either bi-weekly OMM treatments using a predefined protocol (PARK-OMM) for 6 weeks or weekly counseling sessions from a medical provider for 6 weeks as a placebo-control. Balance and motor function was measured by the MiniBESTest, SOT, and MDS-UPDRS pre-intervention, at week 3, and at the end of Week 6.

Results: There were significant improvement in SOT and Mini-BESTest in the PARK-OMM group (p < 0.05), and no significant change in any of the outcome measures in the counseling control group.

Conclusions: The data from this pilot study supports our hypothesis that our pre-defined OMM protocol may improve motor function and balance in PD. Our findings suggest that using the PARK-OMM protocol may be a complementary approach to improving balance and motor function in individuals with PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/park-omm-an-osteopathic-manipulative-medicine-protocol-to-improve-motor-function-and-balance-in-parkinsons-disease/