Osteopatia craniana no tratamento do zumbido crônico

Abstract

Tinnitus is a symptom whose main cause is hearing loss, treated by otolaryngologists and speech therapists. But in addition to hearing loss there are numerous other causes for tinnitus, multiprofessional approach, treated with complementary therapies. The aim of the research was to evaluate the effects on the symptoms of subjects with chronic tinnitus after a single session of cranial osteopathy, and after treatment with cranial osteopathy and acupuncture. The oxidative metabolism of the subjects after the single session of cranial osteopathy was also evaluated. The research sample consisted of volunteers who, complaining of tinnitus for at least six months, sought the Audiology Clinic of the University Hospital of Santa Maria. The first phase, the single session of cranial osteopathy (n = 28) lasted 50 minutes, and the second phase, the treatment with one session per week, for six weeks lasting 30 minutes each, with cranial osteopathy (OCG, n = 12), or with Acupuncture (ACG, n = 12), where subjects were randomized by simple draw method. Osteopathy techniques were directed at cranial sutures, masticatory muscles, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and sphenobasilar synchondrosis; and the application of acupuncture followed a protocol whose meridians included Triple Warmer (TW), Gallbladder (GB), Small Intestine (SI) among others. All subjects underwent history taking, audiometry, acuphenometry, and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory Questionnaire (THI). The subjects who participated in the single session also had their oxidative metabolism evaluated by blood collection and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA), protein carbonation and PicoGreen DNA tests. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was performed before and after the sessions, and it was considered a symptom improvement if two or more points were decreased. The results allowed us to conclude that both single session and Cranial Osteopathy and Acupuncture treatments were effective in the improvement of tinnitus. Protein carbonylation increased shortly after the single session of cranial osteopathy. Cranial osteopathy, an innovative and inexpensive complementary therapy, can be considered as an effective alternative for the treatment of tinnitus. Its biochemical effects still require further elucidation.