Geriatric Osteopathy: Treat the ankle!
- A systematic review and meta-analysis from 2024 shows that Manual therapy is an effective approach to increase ankle range of motion and improve balance in older adults (focus were on participants over 60 years old).
- The study found that manual therapy effectively increased ankle range of motion by 11.3 degrees and improved stability measures such as monopodal stability and static balance.
- Further research is needed to understand the impact of dosage parameters.
- The study faced limitations such as heterogeneity in intervention designs, limited quantitative synthesis for static balance, and potential biases in outcome measurements.
Clinical Practice Insights for Osteopaths
- OMT can effectively increase ankle range of motion in older adults, enhancing stability.
- Greater treatment frequency may lead to better balance and ankle range of motion improvements.
- Improvements are more pronounced in stability measures rather than dynamic balance.
- Consider individualizing treatment parameters.
Check: Hernández-Guillén, D., García-Gomariz, C., Roig-Casasús, S., Díaz-Díaz, B., Domínguez-Navarro, F., Pérez-Maletzki, J., & Blasco, J.-M. (n.d.). Efficacy of ankle mobilization on postural control in older people: A systematic review with meta-analysis.
