The use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in children presents an opportunity for a holistic, multidisciplinary approach in the management of pediatric conditions. Pediatric patients are a unique population, as their maturing anatomy differs from that of adults. Osteopathic manipulative treatment is safely used in pediatric patients from infants to adolescents for a wide variety of diagnoses covering common pediatric conditions, including nonmusculoskeletal diagnoses, such as asthma, behavioral problems, and otitis media.
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Otitis media is the most common reason for children ages 5 years and younger to visit the doctor, and by age 2 years, 90% of children will have experienced an episode of acute otitis media (AOM).
3-4 Studies have shown that adjunctive OMT can help decrease the duration of AOM and its risk for recurrence.
6 A pilot study with 1 year of follow-up showed that approximately 62% of pediatric patients who received 3 weekly OMT sessions after an episode of AOM did not have recurrence of AOM symptoms, whereas other studies found quicker resolution of middle ear effusion using standard care and OMT vs standard care alone.
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