OMT in Asthma Shows Early Promise
OSTEOPATHIC manipulative treatment (OMT) may improve pulmonary function in asthma, though current evidence remains limited and methodologically inconsistent.
Asthma is a common obstructive airway disease associated with substantial functional impairment and morbidity. In this systematic review, investigators evaluated whether OMT, compared with sham treatment or usual care, improved pulmonary function outcomes in patients with asthma. The main measures assessed were peak expiratory flow, forced expiratory volume in one second, and forced vital capacity.
Researchers conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Semantic Scholar to identify clinical studies assessing OMT in asthma. Five clinical studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis.
Pulmonary Function Findings with Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment
Across the included studies, some reported improvements in pulmonary function following osteopathic manipulative treatment. These findings suggest that OMT may have value as an adjunctive approach for addressing musculoskeletal and respiratory mechanical dysfunctions associated with asthma.
However, the evidence base remained limited. Sample sizes were small across all five studies, reducing confidence in the consistency and generalizability of the results. There was also substantial heterogeneity in study design, treatment protocols, and outcome measures, making direct comparisons difficult.
Why the Evidence on OMT in Asthma Remains Limited
The review found that the overall risk of bias was moderate and that the certainty of evidence ranged from low to moderate. That matters, because even when pulmonary function improvements were observed, the quality of the available data did not allow for firm conclusions about the true effect of osteopathic manipulative treatment in asthma management.
The authors concluded that OMT may be associated with improved pulmonary function in patients with asthma, but they emphasized that these findings should be interpreted cautiously. Larger, well-designed randomized controlled trials will be needed to clarify whether osteopathic manipulative treatment has a definitive role in asthma care and to determine which patients, techniques, and outcomes may benefit most.
Reference:
Ponce A et al. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment for Asthma: A Systematic Review of Objective Pulmonary Function Outcomes. Cureus. 2026;18(3):e105000.
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