Masterclass: HIV-infection and osteopathy

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), first recognised in the USA in 1981, and the infective agent responsible, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), has established itself as a worldwide pandemic in the intervening 27 years. Whilst some education providers have set up services dedicated to caring for patients affected by HIV, it is likely that osteopaths, particularly those situated in urban centres, are increasingly likely to be working with patients and colleagues, or have friends affected by this chronic infectious disease. This masterclass paper aims to summarise the points of interface where HIV-infection affects the neuromusculoskeletal system and may complicate everyday presentations and their clinical management by osteopaths and other manual therapists. Details of the pathophysiology of HIV-infection, drug therapy and medical management of the infection itself are beyond the scope of this paper. Suggested online resources are, however, given where such information can usefully be located.