Student Presenter(s): Nicole Companion
Faculty Mentor: Sheldon Yao
School/College: Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury

Introduction: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) has been proven effective to treat chronic lower back pain (CLBP) and significantly reduce pain.1 High-velocity low amplitude (HVLA) technique has been shown to be effective in CLBP reduction2; however, there are limited studies comparing efficacy of other OMT techniques. Objective: To investigate the effects of different OMT techniques on lumbar muscle stiffness and tone. Methods: Subjects were treated with 6 OMT sessions over 3 weeks. Three NMM/OMM board-certified osteopathic physicians diagnosed and treated lumbar somatic dysfunctions with OMT techniques of their choice. Tone and stiffness were measured bilaterally at L1 and L3 levels of paraspinal muscle via the MyotonPro, pre and post-OMT. Results: MyotonPRO data was analyzed from 7 healthy female subjects, 168 unique measurements, using paired t-tests with SPSS statistical software. Group 1 was treated with HVLA only (n=52), group 2 was treated with articulatory only (n=80), and group 3 was treated with mixed treatments (i.e. soft tissue, muscle energy) excluding HVLA (n=36). The average tone significantly decreased after HVLA. The average stiffness significantly decreased after HVLA was performed. Tone and stiffness for groups 2 and 3 decreased, but none were statistically significant. HVLA proved most effective in objectively reducing lumbar paraspinal tone and stiffness compared to articulatory and mixed methods of OMT. Further research is needed.