Osteopathic correction in the complex treatment of patients with panic disorder
Authors: Adamasova Yu. V. , Belash V. O. 
Published: December 2024

Introduction. Panic disorder (PD) is most common in people of the most working age (25 to 64 years). The prevalence of this condition among the population varies from 2 to 5 %. Benzodiazepines and antidepressants, 

which are included in most international and national clinical guidelines, have proven clinical efficacy in the treatment of panic disorder. However, the treatment regimens offered to date are far from always helpful in achieving the desired outcome. This necessitates the search for alternative treatment schemes, including the use of non-medication methods.

The aim of the study: to substantiate the possibility of using osteopathic correction in the complex therapy of patients with panic disorders.

Materials and methods. A controlled randomised study was conducted from December 2020 to December 2021 on the basis of the medical clinic «Anatomy of Health» (Bataysk). There were 32 female patients under observation, aged 25 to 55 years with a previous diagnosis of panic disorder. Depending on the applied treatment, all observed patients were divided into 2 groups using the method of simple randomisation: main group (16 patients) and control group (16 patients). All patients received conventional psychopharmacotherapy and psychotherapy selected according to an individual scheme. In addition to the described therapy scheme, the patients of the main group received three sessions of osteopathic correction lasting about 60 minutes each. The interval between the sessions was from 14 to 21 days. All patients were assessed for osteopathic status, the frequency and severity of panic attacks were investigated using the Panic Disorder Severity Rating Scale.

Results. The average age of the examined patients was 38,1±8,7 years. All the patients had comorbid pathology: dorsopathies of nasal localisation (25 people, 80 %), pathology of gastrointestinal tract (17 people, 54 %), cephalgia (12 people, 38 %). Somatic dysfunctions (SD) of global level were less characteristic for the examined patients and were revealed in 7 people [3 (19 %) in the main group and 4 (25 %) in the control group]. All patients had a combination of global rhythmogenic disorder (impaired cranial rhythmic impulse production) and global neurodynamic disorder (psychoviscerosomatic). The patients were found to have regional level SD, with a combination of 2 or more regional biomechanical disorders, and the following regions were characterised by dysfunctions: thoracic [structural and visceral components — 32 (100 %) and 32 (100 %) respectively], pelvis [visceral component — 19 (59 %)], and head [13 (41 %)]. If before the treatment the patients of both groups did not differ statistically significantly in the frequency of detected SDs, after the treatment a statistically significant (p<0,05) decrease in the frequency of detection of regional biomechanical disorders of the thoracic region (structural and visceral component) and pelvis (visceral component) in the patients of the main group was obtained. For the rest of the indicators the differences were not significant. Most of the patients had mild (17 patients, 53 %) and moderate (8 patients, 25 %) panic attacks. The average number of points according to the questionnaire was 10,1±2,5. According to these indicators the groups did not differ statistically significantly. After completion of the course of complex treatment in the patients of the main group in comparison with the control group there is a statistically significant (p<0,05) higher number of people with borderline values and mild panic attack severity, this corresponds to a statistically significant (p<0,05) lower number of scores on the self-questionnaire.

Conclusion. The patients with PD are primarily characterised by SD of the thoracic region (structural and visceral components) and pelvis (visceral component). Inclusion of osteopathic correction in the complex therapy of PD patients allows to achieve statistically significant more significant positive dynamics of indicators characterising the severity of the disease (decrease in the number of patients with severe form and increase in mild and borderline forms of the disease). It is reasonable to recommend to profile specialists to refer patients with PD for consultation to an osteopathic doctor with the purpose of potential inclusion of OC in treatment programmes for this group of patients.