As some of you may know, I had heart bypass surgery earlier this year. About a month after surgery, I started getting adjusted frequently because I had mid back pain (thoracic spine) and my ribs were painful. I went to a chiropractor that provided me with treatments like in this article, and it really helped me to recover faster and better. To this day, I’m still pain-free. ~ Dr. Broussard
Osteopathic treatment leads to significantly greater reductions in chronic thoracic pain after CABG surgery: A randomised controlled trial
JBMT
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 3, P202-211, JULY 01, 2020
Gert Roncada
Abstract
Background
There are a number of long-term postoperative complications after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Pulmonary function is decreased by 12% and 30%–50% of the patients have chronic thoracic pain.
Methods
This randomised controlled trial with two parallel groups aimed to explore the effectiveness of osteopathic treatments (OTs) on these conditions. The standard care (SC) group and the and OT group received a 12-week standard cardiac rehabilitation programme, which was supplemented with four OTs for the OT group only. The outcome assessors were blinded to the patients’ allocation.
Results
Eighty-two patients with median sternotomy after CABG surgery were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio (SC: n = 42, OT: n = 42). Slow vital capacity and pain intensity were measured at baseline and at 12 weeks and 52 weeks after surgery. Pain intensity was significantly lower in the OT group 12 weeks after surgery (3.6–0.80 vs. 2.6 to 1.2, p = 0.030). One year after surgery, there still was a significantly lower pain intensity in the OT group (3.6–0.56, vs. 2.6 to 1.2, p = 0.014). No significant changes between groups were found in pulmonary function. There were no adverse events reported.
Conclusions
From this study, it can be concluded that the addition of OT to exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation may lead to significantly greater reductions in thoracic pain after CABG surgery.