Positive Health Online

Abstract

HONDRAS and colleagues, Consortial Center for Chiropractic, 30W009 Willow Court, Warrenville, Illinois 60555-1018, USA, mhondras@interaccess.com, reviewed (73 references) manual therapies for asthma.

Background

A variety of manual therapies is used to treat patients with asthma. Manual therapy practitioners include physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, chiropractors, and osteopathic physicians. A systematic review was conducted in an effort to evaluate the evidence for the effects of manual therapies in the treatment of bronchial asthma.

Methodology

Trials were searched in computerized databases (EMBASE, CINHAL, MEDLINE, Cochrane Complementary Medicine Field, Cochrane Rehabilitation Field, ICL, and MANTIS). In addition, bibliographies from included studies were assessed, and authors contacted for more information about published and unpublished trials. Trials were included if they were randomized, included asthmatic children or adults, examined one or more manual therapies, and included clinical outcomes. All three reviewers independently extracted data and evaluated the quality of studies.

Results

Five randomized controlled trials were selected for the review. Two trials were on chiropractic manipulation, and neither found any differences in outcome between chiropractic spinal manipulation and a sham manoeuvre. The other three trials were small. One found differences in lung function between massage and a relaxation control group. One compared chest physiotherapy to placebo, and one compared footzone therapy to no treatment. Neither of these found any differences in lung function.

Conclusion

There is insufficient evidence to support the use of manual therapies for patients with asthma. There is a need to conduct adequately sized trials examining the effects of manual therapies on asthma using relevant clinical outcomes.

References

Hondras MA, Linde K, Jones AP. Manual therapy for asthma. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2002 (4): CD001002.