OMT and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

Source: Alzheimer's: A Family AffairAnd Growing Social Problem By Mohammed A. Jayber, DO

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most difficult conditions that osteopathic physicians are asked to diagnose and treat. Its toll on patients, families, and society has been enormous. Although dementia in general is common, it is often overlooked. Unfortunately, most cases of AD are only diagnosed when the dementia is fully apparent. Typically, the early stages go undetected until AD has progressed to a severe, disrupting disorder. This is because specific biological markers for AD do not exist. The caregivers drive themselves to physical and emotional exhaustion. However, patients with AD are not beyond help as researchers struggle to understand the disease. They are looking for treatments that will prevent it, slow its progress, or treat it outright.

Role of OMT in treating AD.

Osteopathic physicians can play an important role in AD management. At their disposal, they have numerous OMT techniques that can help nurture and maybe repair the visceral damage done by AD.

Somatic adjustments can restore the balance in the neuro-hormonal-lymphatic axis. Some techniques that can be employed include muscle energy, HVLA, strain/counterstrain, lymphatic pump and cranio-sacral.

Areas that can be adjusted include the OA joint, AA joint, cervical spine and cranio-sacral. These techniques usually work best in the mild to moderate AD patient for obvious reasons. The osteopathic physician must take care to explain his clinical intent to the patient and the patient’s family. Again, the art of medicine may come into play here.