Osteopathic Manipulation and the Immune System

Anecdotal accounts and some research studies suggest that osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), such as lymphatic and splenic pump, will facilitate lymph movement and enhance the immune system response to infection or injected antigen.

In this pilot study two groups of volunteers were vaccinated with a recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine, given at 0, 1, and 6 months. The experimental group, 20 subjects, received three osteopathic manipulative treatments (lymphatic and splenic pump) per week for two weeks after each vaccination. 19 control subjects received the vaccine but no OMT.

The objective was to compare the time course and levels and antibody production in the two groups. Antibodies measure the immune system response. Blood samples were taken at intervals following vaccination and analyzed.

Eight experimental and 6 control subjects had a positive antibody response by the sixth week after the first vaccine. Eight weeks after the second vaccination, 19 subjects had a positive titer, 11 of these were in the OMT group and 8 were in the control group . The highest titers were 2400 and 850 in the test group, 150 and 42 in the control group. The mean anti-Hepatitis B antibody titers were 170 experimental and 18 for the controls.

The data suggests an enhanced immunologic response in subjects who received OMT. Future studies will quantitate other immunologic parameters, or focus on protective outcomes in an infectious disease model, to demonstrate the efficacy of OMT.

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The effect of osteopathic manipulative treatment on the antibody response to hepatitis B vaccine. TF Sttle, DO, KM Jackson, PhD, EP Dugan, PhD. Fortieth Annual AOA Research Conference Abstracts: 1996