title: Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Because of its prevalence and impact on women's well-being, and its high financial costs, female LUTS is an important health problem that requires serious attention from health professionals.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this review was to determine the clinical effects of osteopathic treatment on female lower urinary tract disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search was performed in May 2011 in the electronic databases Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PEDro, OSTMED-DR, OSTEOPATHIC WEBRESEARCH and databases of ongoing trials. A manual search in reference lists and a personal communication with experts in the field of osteopathy was also conducted to identify additional studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Only randomized clinical studies (RCT) or controlled clinical studies (CCT) were included. Inclusion criteria of the participants were female, at least 18 years old and a diagnosed female urinary tract disorder. Exclusion criteria were neurologic disorders, tumors, urinary tract infections or antibiotic treatment, and pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two review authors independently extracted the data of the studies using a standardized data extraction form. The updated Cochrane Risk of bias tool from 2011 was used to assess the methodological quality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The quantitative analysis shows a statistically significant and clinically relevant improvement when the osteopathic intervention was compared to an untreated group. Two studies which compare OMT with the pelvic floor muscle training as a reference treatment document almost the same therapeutic effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis are promising and encouraging to conduct larger, rigorous osteopathic intervention studies for female urination disorders. Future studies should compare the osteopathic treatment with established standard procedures in the control group.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Osteopathic Studies, Siegen, Germany. info@helge-franke.de
authors.forename: Helge
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoesele
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D059411:Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D026301:Manipulation, Osteopathic / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016387:Women's Health