The effects of Osteopathic treatment on common femoral artery blood flow in SCI individuals and able-bodied controls

Introduction: Pressure sores have been shown to be the major secondary health complication in spinal cord injured (SCI) individuals, and are associated with decreased blood flow and reduced healing potential. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of 3 different sessions of osteopathic treatment on mean leg blood flow (MLBF) in the left common femoral artery (CFA) of SCI individuals compared to able-bodied (AB) individuals. Methods: Six individuals (five male, one female; age 44 ± 17.5 years) with chronic SCI (C6-T12; ASIA A-B; 3.7 ± 4.6 years post-injury) and six AB individuals (five male, one female, 38.3 ± 9.7 years) participated in our study. The protocol consisted of 1 control ‘familiarization’ session of 40 minutes and 3 osteopathic treatment days, where our participants received manual therapy treatment focusing on the cranium (session 1), abdomen (session 2) and the lower extremities (session 3). Doppler ultrasound was used to determine the diameter and mean blood velocity (MBV) in the CFA before, during and after each session. Results: Two-way ANOVA statistical analysis revealed no difference in the maximal change in MLBF and leg vascular resistance (LVR) between groups or between the different treatment days. However, the maximal change in (MBV) was higher and maximal change of mean diameter was lower in SCI individuals (1.9 ± 2.0 cm/s; 0.03 ± 0.03 cm) compared to AB individuals (0.4 ± 1.3 cm/s; 0.06 ± 0.06 cm) across all treatments. There were no differences in absolute MLBF or LVR between treatments. Conclusion: Osteopathic treatment did not have an effect on CFA MLBF in either SCI or AB individuals. There was, however, a difference in the maximal change in MBV and diameter from rest to during treatment between groups. These, were however, so small that absolute flow was not observed to be different from baseline.