Conference Explores Therapy/System Interactions
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According to the science, could manual (hands-on) treatment from a chiropractic physician help with stomach conditions? Could osteopathic manual therapy have an effect on lung disorders?
While manual-therapy practices are most known for treatment of the muscular and skeletal systems, their effects on the internal organs—also called the viscera—and on the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system are active areas of inquiry.
A scientific conference on this topic brought clinicians and scientists from a range of professions to the University of North Texas, Fort Worth, on March 31 and April 1, 2008. NCCAM was a cofunder of the event, "Somato-Visceral Interactions and Autonomic Mechanisms of Manual Therapy."
Partap Khalsa, D.C., Ph.D., D.A.B.C.O., an NCCAM program officer, commented to CAM at the NIH, "This was an historic, multidisciplinary, international gathering. The basic science of interactions between the connective tissues and the visceral organs, via the involuntary nervous system, was defined. The importance of these interactions for many body systems was presented. While there is not much rigorous clinical research yet, participants identified areas for future research."
