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Changes in the pressure pain threshold in the spine after manual pumping of liver by an osteopath.

Changes in the pressure pain threshold in the cervical and dorsal vertebrae after manual pumping of liver by an osteopath in patients with pathophysiology related to liver function

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ANZCTR
Registry ID
ACTRN12615000410550
Enrollment
46
Registered
2015-04-30
Start date
2015-05-29
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The osteopathic treatment of the liver has been recommended in several types of disorders in order to increase and improve the liver function. However, there are no studies to support its effectiveness. Therefore, through the algometer, we inten to evaluate the effect of the osteopathic manual pumping of liver technique on changes in the pain of cervical and dorsal vertebrae in patients with different symptoms. The conceptual hypothesis of our study will be that "the manual treatment of the liver improves the pain of cervical and dorsal vertebrae", so that a visceral manual operation may change the neural function of the viscera itself.

Interventions

The pumping technique: To such end, the subject place in a supine position with knees bent and the therapist standing on the left hand side of the patient, near the abdominal area. The left hand goes under the costal border to lift the costal chest. The right hand rests on the lower chest on the right side to compress the liver through the costal wall. The lower hand lifts the ribs while the upper hand exerts compression. The patient is asked to inhale deeply, and on exhaling the compression is performed with the hands, and during deep inspiration. This will be repeated for 10 respiratory cycles. Thus, through the anteroposterior contact on the liver, using the costal inspiration, which lowers the diaphragm, the liver is pumped

Sponsors

Elena Rodriguez Lopez
Lead SponsorIndividual

Study design

Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria will be subjects of both sexes who seek an osteopathy consultation for any disorder whose pathophysiology has been related with the function of the liver (spinal pains, headaches, sprained ankle ...), aged between 18 and 65 years, must have fasted for at least 8 hours and tolerating the supine position

Exclusion criteria

Subjects presenting the following could not participate in the study (i) contraindication or intolerance to costal compression, (ii) psychotic problems, (iii) primary cancer or current metastases, (iv) current gastrointestinal bleeding, (v) liver transplants ( vi) polycystic liver or hepatobiliary infarction (vii) intra-abdominal infection or inflammation in acute phase, (viii) chronic liver disease of any etiology, (ix) decompensated heart failure (x) subjects who are receiving chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy, (xi) pregnant women,

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ANZCTR · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026