Osteopathic Considerations in the Medical Treatment of a Patient with COVID-Related Respiratory Distress

Abstract We present a case of a woman hospitalized for acute hypoxic respiratory failure secondary to suspected post coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pneumonitis who clinically improved after addition of sequenced Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) to her medical management. Objective signs (such as oxygen saturation, SPO2) improved, resulting in decreased oxygen volume requirements by 75% after 1 treatment of OMT, and by 97.5% over her remaining hospitalization. Subjective symptoms of dyspnea, chest tightness, fatigue and mental health also improved. Her most significant somatic dysfunctions (SD), which were primarily in her thoracic, ribcage and cervical regions, were correlated with her clinical presentation and disease process. This suggests that SD was likely a modifiable risk factor impairing her normal adaptive physiologic processes and therefore treating SD with sequenced OMT may have contributed to her realizing a higher health potential when combined with standard medical care.