Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40730392›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Effect of osteopathic manipulative treatment on comorbid depressive symptoms in patients with chronic low back pain: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Lucas Bohlen, Michael Eggart, Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen, Jürgen Lorenz, Robert Schleip, Torsten Liem, Francesco Cerritelli, Jorge E Esteves, Meike Shedden-Mora, Tobias Schmidt

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. [Whole-body cryotherapy for low back pain].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Lucas BohlenResearch Department, Osteopathie Schule Deutschland, Hamburg, Germany lbohlen@osteopathie-schule.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8267-7546
Michael EggartCenter for Mental Health, Immanuel Hospital Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Rüdersdorf, Germany.
Bruno Müller-OerlinghausenCharité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Jürgen LorenzDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Life Science, University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8561-6714
Robert SchleipProfessorship of Conservative and Rehabilitive Orthopaedics, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Torsten LiemResearch Department, Osteopathie Schule Deutschland, Hamburg, Germany.
Francesco CerritelliClinical-Based Human Research Department, Foundation COME Collaboration, Pescara, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2963-9620
Jorge E EstevesClinical-Based Human Research Department, Foundation COME Collaboration, Pescara, Italy.
Meike Shedden-MoraInstitute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy & Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2023-3824
Tobias SchmidtResearch Department, Osteopathie Schule Deutschland, Hamburg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionChronic low back pain (CLBP) and depressive symptoms (DS) are highly prevalent, burdensome, costly and comorbid health conditions. Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) was shown to improve pain and disability in patients with CLBP; however, the effect on comorbid DS remains less certain. Interestingly, CLBP and DS seem to be associated with changes in interoception, which may be reversed by OMT. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study protocol proposes a single-blinded, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial to investigate the effect of OMT on clinical symptoms (depression, pain and disability) and interoceptive functions (interoceptive accuracy, sensibility and awareness) in patients with CLBP and comorbid DS. A sample of 60 adult subjects with CLBP and comorbid DS shall be recruited from osteopathic, orthopaedic and physiotherapeutic practices and educational institutes for osteopathy, sports science, psychology and medicine in Hamburg, Germany. Participants will be randomly allocated (1:1 ratio) to receive six 45 min treatment sessions of either OMT (standard-OMT group) or sham treatment imitating OMT (sham-OMT group). Primarily, symptoms of depression, pain and disability will be assessed with the Beck's Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Secondarily, interoceptive accuracy, sensibility and awareness will be evaluated using the Heartbeat Tracking Task (HTT), Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2) and confidence-accuracy correspondence (CAC). Ancillary, the therapeutic alliance will be investigated with the Helping Alliance Questionnaire. Data will be collected at baseline (t ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the ethics committee of the Medical School Hamburg (MSH-2023/288). The anonymised dataset will be published in an online repository, and the results will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00031694.

Indexed as

Chronic PainDepressionLow Back PainManipulation, OsteopathicAdultComorbidityDisability EvaluationFemaleGermanyHumansInteroceptionMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSingle-Blind MethodBack painCOMPLEMENTARY MEDICINEDepression & mood disorders

Identifiers

PMID40730392
PMCPMC12306478

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.