The research into viscerosomatic and somatovisceral reflexes and their integration with manual therapy, A literature review.
Item
- Title
- The research into viscerosomatic and somatovisceral reflexes and their integration with manual therapy, A literature review.
- Author(s)
- Florence, P
- Abstract
- A Literature review concerning the concepts of Viscerosomatic and Somatovisceral reflexes and their relationship with manual therapy with reference to the possible critique of lack integration of basic science research. This review attempts to answer the questions: Is there a relationship between the spinal reflex arc, immunity and disease? Is there evidence for the efficacy of Osteopathic manipulative therapy in this area? Method: A review was conducted using various online databases using specific search terms as well as manually searching for relevant research. Due to the variability of indexing terms references of related literature were also searched in order to have the most conclusive list of research. Results: The viscerosomatic reflex of referred pain is widely accepted, the mechanisms of which are reasonably understood in animal and human research. The concept of facilitation in reference to the process of somatic dysfunction has some scientific rationale and with some alteration research which demonstrates the possible mechanisms. The existence of somatovisceral and viscerosomatic reflexes has been clearly demonstrated in animal studies and some human studies.The application of manual therapy to influence these reflexes and through this physiological regulation and immunity is less well researched but there is a need for further evidence. Conclusions: There is sufficient research demonstrating positive outcomes to warrant further research to explore the mechanisms and effectiveness of treatment in this area. There are many flaws inherent in the methodologies therefore it is suggested that further research would benefit from incorporating larger sample sizes and an awareness of the breadth of manual therapy techniques to give clear outcomes.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2012
- Date Submitted
- 22.1.2013 16:23:35
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15218
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Viscerosomatic reflexes, Somatovisceral reflexes, Manual therapy
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Florence, P, “The research into viscerosomatic and somatovisceral reflexes and their integration with manual therapy, A literature review.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 3, 2025, https://www.osteopathicresearch.com/s/orw/item/847