Research reportEffect of a general osteopathic treatment on body satisfaction, global self perception and anxiety: A randomized trial in asymptomatic female students

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to assess the effect of a single session of a general osteopathic treatment (OG) on several psychological features.MethodsThirty-four asymptomatic female volunteers (age) completed baseline auto-questionnaires about anxiety, body satisfaction and global self-perception. Then, they were randomly assigned to OG or to control group (restful state). Each intervention was performed during 30 min. After the session, psychological data were collected using the same auto-questionnaires. To test the effect of treatment we used ANOVA for repeated measures and compared changes over time between OG and control groups.ResultsAt baseline, characteristics were comparable between groups. Following the intervention, we observed improvements in psychological state in both OG and control groups. Nevertheless, OG had a significant larger effect over restful state for anxiety and global self-perception (p < 0.02).ConclusionsThe present study suggests that an osteopathic approach using articular and soft tissue mobilisations has an effect, at least in the short term, on anxiety and global body perception. Further investigation is needed to confirm the relevance and broaden the scope of the present study.