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Osteopathy and Influenza
by Walter Llewellyn McKone D.O.
 
|   page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | page 4   |
 
Statistics from the 1917-18 Pandemic

Mortality in Influenza      
Under Cases Deaths Percentage
Medical care 1000 50 5
Osteopathic Care 1000 2.25 ¼ of 1
       
Mortality in Pneumonia
    
Under Cases Deaths Percentage
Medical care 1000 350 35
Osteopathic Care 1000 100 10

Source: The Lengthening Shadow of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still by Hildreth

“Perhaps nowhere else in the body does the logical patency of the osteopathic concept stand out more vividly than in the combined activeness, structural and functional dependency, of a rib, the pleura and sympathetic ganglion. No stretch of the imagination is demanded .”
Carl P. McConnell, DO, Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, May 1935.

What happened in 1917-18 was essentially a “cytokine storm.” An over reaction of the immune response regulated by the sympathetic nervous system is central to the immune response to epithelial cell necrosis. Unfortunately, the sympathetic nervous system is in a state of sympatheticotonia or heightened facilitation. It is this heightened state that over excites the cytokine system. Treatment by the osteopath has to control, not stop, this response. It is in this state that the sympathetic (vasomotor) system over dilates leading to a bloody pneumonia.

Overall management should include the following:

Quarantine
Nutrition
Hygiene
Reduce cross-infection
Osteopathic manipulative medicine
Prophylactic family treatment

Influenza symptoms arise from the patient’s response to epithelial cell necrosis NOT viral presence.

We aim to reduce the inflammatory, fight-flight, sympatheticotonia response NOT stop it.

The manipulative approach isn’t rocket science: calm the over-reaction of the patient to the cell necrosis. It doesn’t remove the virus, it calms the patient. This means they can walk around, watch TV and have chicken soup.

1 Get the ribs moving
2 Affect the sympathetic ganglia which are bound to the rib heads and lymph nodes
3 This improves circulation
4 Release the occipito-atlantal region this stops the headache
5 Calm the adrenal region
6 Think about the thyroid
7 Remember these are NOT manipulative techniques, just the ideas
8 The techniques I will show in my seminars
9 The most important part: If you do not know the original osteopathic philosophy treatment will not work. Ask those that know the philosophy and then the treatment will work. No philosophy, no osteopathy!

 
 
   
  References

Bush, E. A. (1919) Care of Influenza and Pneumonia in an Army Base Hospital. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, March, p. 333-335.
Buster, W. L. (1919) Influenza and Pneumonia. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, April, p. 393-396.


Chiles, H.L. (1918) The Treatment of Influenza. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Editorial, October, p. 83-85.

Chiles, H. L. (1918) Ravages of the Influenza Epidemic. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Editorial, November, p.147-148.

Chiles, H. L. (1919) A New Survey of Public Health. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Editorial, January, p.227-230.

Chiles, H. L. (1919) Has the Epidemic Convinced us? Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, February, p.287-288.

Chiles, H. L. (1919) Chicago-The Meeting. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, August, 572-616.

Eskandari, F. Webster, J. I. And Sternberg, E. M. (2003) Neural immune pathways and their connection to inflammatory diseases. Arthritis Res Ther, 5:251-256.

LaRue, J. B. (1919) Pneumonia. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, January, vol. XVIII, No. 5, P.206-209. Paper read at A.O.A. Convention, Boston, Mass., July 1-6, 1918.

LaRue, J. B. (1919) Treatment of Pneumonia. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, February, p.273-277. Paper read at A.O.A. Convention, Boston, Mass., July 1-6, 1918.

McConnell, C. P . (1918) Dr. McConnell's Discussions - Some Phases of Therapeutics. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, October, p. 92-96.

McConnell, C. P . (1918) Dr. McConnell's Discussions - Pathogenesis. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, February, p. 294-298

McConnell, C. P. (1919) Dr. McConnell's Discussions - Osteopathy in Acute Diseases. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, March, p.351-356.

Patterson, M. M. (2005) The Coming Influenza Pandemic: Lessons From the Past for the Future. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Vol. 105 . No 11. November, p.498-500
http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/reprint/105/11/498

Parsons, C. L. (1918) Acute Practice. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, October, p.97-98.

Read, C.C. (1919) Prevention and Treatment of Influenza. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, January, vol. XVIII, No. 5, p. 209-211.

Riley, G. W. (1919) Osteopathic Success in the Treatment of Influenza and Pneumonia. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, August, p. 565-569.

Smith, R. K. (1919) Osteopathy's Greatest Opportunity. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, January, January, vol. XVIII, No. 5. p. 205-206.

Snyder, C. P. (1919) Influenza Affection of Heart. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, July, p. 534-536.

Tucker, E. E. (1919) Spanish Influenza - What and Why? Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Feb. p. 270-273.

More interesting papers

Elenkov, I.L., Wilder, R. L., Chrousos, G. P. and Silvester Vizi, E. (2000)
The Sympathetic Nerve – An Integrative Interface between Two Supersystems: The Brain and the Immune System. Pharmacological Reviews, 52:595-638. LINK

Montalto, N. J. (2003) An Office-Based Approach to Influenza: Clinical Diagnosis and Laboratory Testing. American Family Physician, January 1, Vol. 67, No. 1, p. 111-8  LINK

Panuncio, A. L., De La Pena, S, Gualco, G. and Reissenweber, N. (1998) Adrenergic Innervation in Reactive Human Lymph Nodes. Journal of Anatomy, 194:143-146 LINK

Sheridan, J. F., Dobbs, C., et al (1998) Stress-Induced Neuroendocrine Modulation of Viral Pathogenesis and Immunity. Ann N Y Acad Sci, May 1; 840:803-808

Turnbull, A. V. and Rivier, C. L. (1999)
Regulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis by Cytokines: Actions and Mechanisms of Action. Physiological Review, January, 79: 1-71   LINK

Webster, J. I. and Sternberg, E. M. (2004)
Role of the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, Glucocorticoids Receptors in Toxic Sequelae of Exposure to Bacterial and Viral Products.
Journal of Endocrinology, 181,207-221.   LINK
   
 
 
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