The study looked at the effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative medicine compared to traditional medical care of pneumonia in patients 50 and older. The results found the manipulative medicine treatment could reduce recovery time by a day and decrease the use of antibiotics and chances of respiratory failure.

Manipulative medicine is the use of hands to help relax the muscles of the body and is used to alleviate pain, restore range of motion and enhance immune systems, Hortos said.

Pneumonia is a common disease that needs to be treated effectively, Hortos said.

“What we were looking at is if there are other mechanisms that can help treat pneumonia,” she said. “It’s one of the more common problems that we have and we also have the issue of drug resistant and viral strains that need alternate treatments.”

The college provided 25 percent of the study results and exemplified the goals of the college, she said.

“The exciting element is that it showed the ability for us and our statewide campus to do community-based research studies,” she said. “We were contributing new knowledge, but it also put a research that is our primary focus in operation, and that is community care.”

The study was funded by several foundations, including a $1.5 million grant from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation in Columbus, Ohio and the Foundation for Osteopathic Health Services.

The goal of the project was to provide information to the College of Osteopathic Medicine so it can perform studies on a large scale, Hortos said.

“Studies tend to be smaller in numbers,” she said. “We were able to conduct the study in different regions to demonstrate (the results are) not a local phenomenon.”

Studies that reach full communities — especially on common illnesses such as pneumonia — are extremely important, said Margaret Aguwa, a professor of family and community medicine.

“You can’t do a study on one person, especially on a disease as common as pneumonia,” Aguwa said. “Studies like this show more reputable and credible results.”

Aguwa said the study also was beneficial for the field of osteopathic medicine.
“We’re constantly looking for studies that are looking at effectiveness of manipulative medicine,” she said. “They help us in providing more information on its uses.”

Studies that help with the treatment of pneumonia are welcome to the health community, said James McCurtis, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

“Anything that comes about regarding pneumonia is good,” he said. “It’s an element that affects a lot of people across the country and requires a lot of care.”