SynthesisBMJ open2025
Effects of manual osteopathic interventions on psychometric and psychophysiological indicators of anxiety, depression and stress in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Feasibility and Acceptability of Craniosacral Therapy and Respiratory Training in Mothers of Children with Disabilities: Protocol for a Three-Arm Non-Randomized Controlled Pilot and Feasibility Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A hands-on approach to personalizing palliative care: the role of osteopathic manipulative treatment.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Exploring the use of manual therapy in the management of traumatic brain injury: a scoping review.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2025Article
- Article
- Effect of Neutral and Negative Images on Galvanic Skin Response: An Activity for Courses in Forensic, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience.Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo evaluate whether osteopathic and related manual interventions improve adult mental health (depression, anxiety, stress) and psychophysiological measures (eg, heart rate variability, skin conductance).
designSystematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). DATA SOURCES: PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, Cochrane, and AMED, searched through September 2024. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: English-language RCTs with ≥30 participants investigating osteopathic or related manual therapies (eg, myofascial release, high-velocity low-amplitude thrusts) delivered by qualified practitioners, compared with no treatment or sham, and reporting immediate postintervention mental health or psychophysiological outcomes. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Full-text screening, risk-of-bias assessment and data extraction were conducted independently by multiple reviewers using a standardised Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Extraction Form. Risk of bias was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist. For meta-analyses, Hedges'
results20 RCTs were included. Osteopathic interventions reduced depression (Hedges'
conclusionsOsteopathic and related manual therapies may reduce depression and influence certain psychophysiological markers, particularly in pain populations, but uncertainty and heterogeneity limit confidence. More rigorous, larger, and longitudinal RCTs are needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: This meta-analysis was not formally registered, though the protocol and search strategy can be found at Open Science Framework, registration identification: https://osf.io/jrtpx/.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.