Analysis of structural and functional disorders in the body as a method for predicting panic attack

Introduction . Panic attacks (PAs), not infrequently occurring against the background of apparent health, are fairly common in general medical practice and can accompany many mental, somatic, and neurological diseases. Unfortunately, in current studies of characteristics of patients with PAs insufficient attention is paid to the body as a source of physical suffering. A number of studies have confirmed the effectiveness of osteopathic treatment techniques aimed at eliminating the body′s somatic dysfunctions (SDs) as well as reducing the severity and frequency of PAs up to their complete disappearance. Also, it is obvious that there is a certain connection between panic attacks and structural and functional disorders of the body. However, criteria for risk-prediction of PAs development in healthy people and patients with PAs have not been developed. The aim of the study : to develop criteria for risk-prediction of PAs development in healthy people and patients with PAs using osteopathic techniques based on the analysis of structural and functional disorders. Materials and methods . The study involved 123 participants aged 39,4±10,9, including 21 men (17,1 %) and 102 women (82,9 %). All patients were divided into two groups with the first group representing 73 people with panic attacks and the second group — 50 people without panic attacks. All the patients were examined using osteopathic techniques in accordance with clinical practice guidelines. Results . Patients with PAs have a noticeably greater number of somatic dysfunctions compared to healthy people, statistically significantly differing from them ( p >0,001). Despite the diversity of SDs of the body, the following SDs are more often observed in patients with PAs: local somatic dysfunctions of the upper thoracic vertebrae, upper ribs, the sphenobasilar synchondrosis (SBS) patterns, and/or SDs of cranial sutures. A combination of these dysfunctions increases the risk of panic attack development. It can be assumed that not only an external provoking factor is needed for PA development, but also the body′s proneness to it, which is expressed as a certain combination of the SDs disrupting the normal functioning of the body, and may indicated a somatopsychiatric disorder. Conclusion . Osteopathic techniques make it possible to predict the risk of developing PAs on the basis of the identified combinations of SDs of the first and second thoracic vertebrae, the first and second ribs, SBS patterns, and/or cranial sutures, to complement generally approved methods of diagnosing panic disorder and aid in the differential diagnosis of complex clinical cases.