Home Response
Article Open Access

Response

  • Taylor Burnham , Derek Higgins , Robert Burnham and Deborah Heath
Published/Copyright: June 1, 2015
Download Article (PDF)
Journal of Osteopathic Medicine
From the journal Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Volume 115 Issue 6

We thank Sucher1 for his interest and commentary on our study2 and acknowledge that he has done the majority of the foundational work on this topic. In our study,2 we found that carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms improved substantially after osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). However, we recorded no objective evidence of improved median nerve function or morphology at the carpal tunnel, suggesting that the symptom improvement was not likely related to median nerve decompression.

Sucher1 appropriately reminds us that additional and potentially more effective OMT techniques—including transverse extention and guy-wire manipulative techniques—could be applied to lengthen the transverse carpal ligament and thereby potentially decompress the median nerve. Best practices also include recording tissue response using a quantitative palpatory assessment with the aim of reducing restriction to below a 2/5 level.

Also, Sucher1 reminds us of the importance of following OMT with a home self-stretching program. These excellent suggestions may augment an already effective treatment. Future research that incorporates these techniques and employs outcome measures using validated subjective measures, as well as objective measures such as those employed in our study, is encouraged.

Taylor Burnham, OMS III A.T. Still University–School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (Mesa)
Derek Higgins, DO Rehab Arizona, Mesa
Robert Burnham, MD Central Alberta Pain and Rehabilitation Institute in Lacombe; Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Deborah Heath, DO A.T. Still University–School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (Mesa)

References

1. Sucher BM. Effectiveness of OMT for carpal tunnel syndrome [letter].J Am Osteopath Assoc.2015;115(6):356-357. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2015.073.10.7556/jaoa.2015.073Search in Google Scholar PubMed

2. Burnham T ,HigginsDC,BurnhamRS,HeathDM. Effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome: a pilot project.J Am Osteopath Assoc.2015;115(3):138-148. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2015.027.10.7556/jaoa.2015.027Search in Google Scholar PubMed

Published Online: 2015-06-01
Published in Print: 2015-06-01

© 2015 American Osteopathic Association

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Articles in the same Issue

  1. EDITORIAL
  2. Health Issues Among Military Populations: Are We Providing Health Care or Health and Care?
  3. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
  4. Effectiveness of OMT for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  5. Response
  6. AOA COMMUNICATION
  7. Official Call: 2015 Annual Business Meeting of the American Osteopathic Association
  8. Proposed Amendments to the AOA Constitution
  9. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
  10. Perceptions of Physicians in Civilian Medical Practice on Veterans’ Issues Related to Health Care
  11. Relationships Between Polypharmacy and the Sleep Cycle Among Active-Duty Service Members
  12. Screening for At-Risk Drinking Behavior in Trauma Patients
  13. Age-Related Decline in Chest Wall Mobility: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Community-Dwelling Elderly Women
  14. MEDICAL EDUCATION
  15. The Doctors Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital Dually Accredited Pediatric Residency Program: A Potential Best Model for Pediatric Osteopathic GME Training
  16. CASE REPORT
  17. Role of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment in the Management of Stiff Person Syndrome
  18. CLINICAL IMAGES
  19. Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome
  20. IN YOUR WORDS
  21. Law #1: Don’t Panic!
https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2015.084
Creative Commons
BY-NC-ND 4.0

Articles in the same Issue

  1. EDITORIAL
  2. Health Issues Among Military Populations: Are We Providing Health Care or Health and Care?
  3. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
  4. Effectiveness of OMT for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  5. Response
  6. AOA COMMUNICATION
  7. Official Call: 2015 Annual Business Meeting of the American Osteopathic Association
  8. Proposed Amendments to the AOA Constitution
  9. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
  10. Perceptions of Physicians in Civilian Medical Practice on Veterans’ Issues Related to Health Care
  11. Relationships Between Polypharmacy and the Sleep Cycle Among Active-Duty Service Members
  12. Screening for At-Risk Drinking Behavior in Trauma Patients
  13. Age-Related Decline in Chest Wall Mobility: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Community-Dwelling Elderly Women
  14. MEDICAL EDUCATION
  15. The Doctors Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital Dually Accredited Pediatric Residency Program: A Potential Best Model for Pediatric Osteopathic GME Training
  16. CASE REPORT
  17. Role of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment in the Management of Stiff Person Syndrome
  18. CLINICAL IMAGES
  19. Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome
  20. IN YOUR WORDS
  21. Law #1: Don’t Panic!
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 6.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2015.084/html?lang=en
Scroll to top button