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Preliminary Evaluation of an Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) to Prevent Motion Sickness Symptoms

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Motion Sickness
Interventions
Other: Sham treatment
Other: Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment
Registration Number
NCT05611814
Lead Sponsor
United States Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory
Brief Summary

Motion sickness directly impacts the readiness of the Army's aviation units. Severe motion sickness results in the dismissal of pilot and air crew candidates during initial training, while minor to moderate symptoms can be distracting during flight. The current medications on the market that target motion sickness symptoms are prohibited for use before flight. Osteopathic Manipulative Techniques are a low to no cost option, which lacks side effects, that allows Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine flight surgeons the opportunity to treat crew members without the use of pharmaceuticals. If effective, these techniques could be used to ensure aircrew readiness. Given the paucity of research on such a technique, a small, pilot study was conducted to demonstrate potential for such an approach.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
12
Inclusion Criteria
  • Must have normal hearing, vision or corrected to normal vision, and cognitive function as determined by self-report and review on demographics and personal history questionnaire.
  • Must have obtained at minimum 6 hours of sleep prior to data collection, as assessed by self-report.
  • Must have refrained from consumption of alcohol and Medications that impact motion sickness symptoms for a minimum of 16 hours prior to each test session, assessed by self-report.
Exclusion Criteria
  1. Must not be currently taking any medications that may affect the vestibular system as assessed by self-report and at the discretion of the study physician.
  2. Must not have a history of vestibular disorders as assessed by self-report.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Sham treatmentSham treatmentThe sham maneuver treatment addressed soft tissue tension, restriction of motion, and tenderness of the lower thoracic and lumbar regions.
Experimental Osteopathic Manipulative TreatmentOsteopathic Manipulative TreatmentThe sham maneuver treatment addressed soft tissue tension, restriction of motion, and tenderness of the cervical region (targeted anatomical structures).
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Motion sickness assessment questionnaire: central subscore from pre- to post-procedureAdministered immediately pre and post-procedure

The Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of the four dimensions of motion sickness: gastrointestinal, central, peripheral, and sopite-related (Gianaros, et al., 2001). It includes 16 items and response format is a likert scale (1 to 9). The difference in scores from pre- to post-procedure were calculated.

Change in Motion sickness assessment questionnaire: gastrointestinal subscore from pre- to post-procedureAdministered immediately pre and post-procedure

The Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of the four dimensions of motion sickness: gastrointestinal, central, peripheral, and sopite-related (Gianaros, et al., 2001). It includes 16 items and response format is a likert scale (1 to 9). The difference in scores from pre- to post-procedure were calculated.

Change in Motion sickness assessment questionnaire: peripheral subscore from pre- to post-procedureAdministered immediately pre and post-procedure

The Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of the four dimensions of motion sickness: gastrointestinal, central, peripheral, and sopite-related (Gianaros, et al., 2001). It includes 16 items and response format is a likert scale (1 to 9). The difference in scores from pre- to post-procedure were calculated.

Change in Motion sickness assessment questionnaire: sopite-related subscore from pre- to post-procedureAdministered immediately pre and post-procedure

The Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of the four dimensions of motion sickness: gastrointestinal, central, peripheral, and sopite-related (Gianaros, et al., 2001). It includes 16 items and response format is a likert scale (1 to 9). The difference in scores from pre- to post-procedure were calculated.

Change in Motion sickness assessment questionnaire: total subscore from pre- to post-procedureAdministered immediately pre and post-procedure

The Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of the four dimensions of motion sickness: gastrointestinal, central, peripheral, and sopite-related (Gianaros, et al., 2001). It includes 16 items and response format is a likert scale (1 to 9). The difference in scores from pre- to post-procedure were calculated.

Heart rate variabilityMeasured throughout procedure (10 minutes total)

Heart rate was aggregated in 30-second intervals. Coefficients of variance were then calculated across the twenty 30-second intervals per participant.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory

🇺🇸

Fort Rucker, Alabama, United States

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