Evidence of Thoracic OMT techniques in the Treatment of Adults with COPD: A Scoping Review

The purpose of this scoping review is to provide a comprehensive evidence map for thoracic osteopathic manual therapy (OMT) techniques selection and application in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a progressive but preventable lung condition that results in persistent obstruction of airflow and is clinically managed currently by pharmacological intervention or standard pulmonary rehabilitation (SPR) programs. Alternatively, there has been previous literature that considers the effect of thoracic OMT on physiological and psychosocial factors, but due to the heterogenous nature of these techniques and the literature, there remains poor indication of which are most frequently selected in clinical practise. Utilising the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines, this review will investigate trends in the literature such as technique selection, outcome measures, methodological limitation and potential knowledge gaps. This information will be shaped by secondary qualitative and quantitative literature, and identified by databases including PubMed, AMED, CINAHL and Scopus. The aim of this research is to descriptively map the current state of literature regarding thoracic OMT technique selection, for the benefit of potential alterative management strategies for COPD patients and clinical relevance in osteopathic practice. This may also benefit researchers in clarifying which thoracic OMT techniques have been previously investigated and where further research is needed.