Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2005; 10: 45
The incidence of uterine leiomyomas is about 20–25% in women of child-bearing age. At present, surgical interventions (hysterectomy or uterine artery embolisation) or high doses of hormones are the most common treatments. Inspired by respective observations during an osteopathic therapy, an RCT was performed to examine whether or not osteopathic treatments affect the size of uterine leiomyomas.
Twenty-four cooperating gynaecologists recruited 71 patients who met all predefined criteria for inclusion in the study. After the initial gynaecological examination, patients randomised to treatment received four sessions of custom-tailored test-dependent osteopathic treatment at intervals of 3 weeks by three fully trained osteopaths in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, respectively. Patients in the control group received no treatment during the study. The size of the leiomyomas was recorded by vaginal sonography (main outcome parameter).
Sixty-five participants finished the study, 38 of them in the treatment group and 27 in the control group (three dropouts in each arm). The size of the leiomyomas in the treatment group decreased by 18% (mean change −276 mm2; 95% CI −148 to −404 mm2) and remained unchanged in the control group (mean change 16 mm2; 95% CI −76 to 111 mm2) (P = 0.001 between groups).
If these short-term changes persist, an osteopathic treatment capable of reducing the size of the leiomyomas may save women from the risks associated with surgical intervention or hormone therapy.
