Cranial osteopathy for stress management in undergraduate students.
Item
- Title
- Cranial osteopathy for stress management in undergraduate students.
- Author(s)
- Paolucci, F
- Abstract
- Title Cranial osteopathy for stress management in undergraduate students Objective This aim of this study was to provide evidence about cranial osteopathic treatment having an effect on undergraduate student stress. Introduction Stress is a common element shared by undergraduate students, which can have a detrimental effect on academic achievement and quality of life. Students face multiple stressors in the social, emotional and physical field that may increase the risk of depression. Emotional intelligence could influence the way undergraduates appraise these stressful situations, having an effect on coping mechanisms and general health status. A lack of coping strategies is reported by various studies found in the current literature, which promote research in the field of undergraduate student stress. The popularity of alternative medicine is currently increasing and osteopathic practice is one of the few complementary medical therapies recognized in the UK. However the effect of cranial osteopathy for management of undergraduate student stress is not reported in any published study. Methods A multiple ABAB single case subject design was selected for this experiment. Two subjects were followed at the same time for fourteen weeks. The Stress Scale Inventory and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were the outcome measures chosen to assess the levels of stress of the candidates. The baseline consisted of six weeks of data gathering, followed by four weeks of intervention phase and four weeks of non-intervention phase. The intervention phase and non-intervention phase were alternated in order to compare the outcomes of the two subjects. A routine of cranial manipulative techniques was established to deliver a clear and reproducible intervention phase. Results A decrease in the severity of perceived stress symptoms was reported by the two validated questionnaires. However the results did not achieve statistical significance, which did not provide evidence for the effects of cranial osteopathy in the reduction of stress in undergraduate students. Conclusion The results showed that cranial osteopathy provided a clinical change in the perception of stress in the subject, although the presence of external variances influencing the results could not be ruled out. The possible carry-over effect of the treatment and the incorrect approach to the analysis of the data might have invalidated the results. A longer duration of the experiment with the use of different methodologies may provide more evidence on the effect of cranial osteopathy into stress management in future research.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2014
- Date Submitted
- 20.1.2015 16:43:40
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15522
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Cranial, Stress, Student well-being
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Paolucci, F, “Cranial osteopathy for stress management in undergraduate students.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 17, 2024, https://www.osteopathicresearch.com/s/orw/item/642