INTRODUCTION: The aging process evidence the need to provide to the elderly either disease control and physical, psychological, and social well-being. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the osteopathic intervention and its impact in quality of life of aged people. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-one subjects (72.1 ± 4.7 years, 18 women) were enrolled in and completed this study. The WHOQOL-bref questionnaire was applied at first and sixth session with an average time interval of 48 [39; 66] days. At each session, screening tests and treatment were performed for somatic dysfunctions; treatment techniques were selected among osteopathic domain. Data from questionnaire were analyzed with Wilcoxon test with significance established at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Significant difference was found in the physical domain (before: 58.67 ± 12.91%; after: 64.64 ± 13.75%; p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in psychological domain (before: 63.10 ± 15.38%; after: 64.38 ± 11.67%; p = 0.846), social relations (before: 62.30 ± 14.34%; after: 62.50 ± 12.82%; p = 1.000) and environment (before: 52.08 ± 11.91%; after: 52.19 ± 11.02%; p = 0.806). Educational level presented significant association with total scoring of the questionnaire before (r = 0.457; p = 0.019) and after (r = 0,380; p = 0,049) osteopathic intervention. CONCLUSION: Osteopathic medicine, in a broad approach, positively contributed to the physical domain of quality of life. Other domains (environmental, psychological, and social relations) were not modified by osteopathic intervention, resulting in unchanged overall quality of life.
Osteopathic medicine; Quality of life; Elderly
