The lecture is based on Mia’s doctoral dissertation “Melancholia or Not; The Mysterious Differences in Depression – A Study of Pathophysiological Differences Between Depressive Subtypes – Findings From TheHelsinki Birth Cohort Study“. The lecture focuses on differences between depressive subtypes, but also touches on how interrelated physical and mental health is. Mia will also discuss the meaning of these findings through the lens of osteopathy and why medical research like this should be of interest to osteopaths. 

Dr Mia D. Eriksson, DO, PhD, is a Finnish osteopathic physician who works as a general surgery resident at the Helsinki University Hospital in Finland. Mia moved to the USA in 2012 and received her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas in 2016. During this time, she was involved in research both in Finland and the Texas, with topics involving Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and early-life stress. Mia studied osteopathic medicine at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, from which she graduated in 2020. During the pandemic Mia completed her PhD on the topic of depression and successfully defended her thesis at the University of Helsinki.  

Drawing on 38 years of experience as a humble student, practitioner, teacher and lecturer in the field of Orthopaedic Medicine, and as a member of an interdisciplinary spinal pain team for 27 years, the lecturer shares his thoughts on the demographics, aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and secondary prevention of spinal pain, and presents the results of a third-party evaluation of a short, interdisciplinary, inpatient team-based programme at a rural hospital in Iceland, 2 and 7 years after discharge, respectively. 

Jósep Ó.Blöndal, MD,MDT, born  in Siglufjörður, Iceland. Graduated from the University of Copenhagen 1976.  Postgraduate training in general surgery in Skellefteå and Örebro, Sweden, 1976- 1984. Chief Physician and General Surgeon in Patreksfjörður Iceland, 1984 – 1990. Chief Physician/Surgeon at St.Franciscus´ Hospital in Stykkishólmur, 1990 -2017.  Invited to London by Patricia Cyriax in April, 1986. Diploma in  Orthopaedic Medicine at the Cyriax Organization in 1989. Became a pioneer in the discipline in his country. Established in 1992 an inpatient, interdisciplinary  spinal pain clinic. Has  lectured on the subject of spinal pain in Iceland and abroad and taught hundreds of students of medicine and physiotherapy. Jósep is an active amateur musician. Graduated 2006 from the Music School in Stykkishólmur as a classical pianist.  

Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart and respiratory disease, stroke and cancer continue to be a major cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable respiratory disease with significant extrapulmonary effects that contribute to the severity in individuals. These extrapulmonary effects include chest tightness and dyspnoea. The disease is also characterised by decreasing exercise capacity, a prognostic indicator for long-term survival in people with COPD. Exercise limiting dyspnoea (ELD) is a key driver of decreasing exercise capacity. Our research has shown that a combination of Osteopathic manual therapy (OMT) and exercise, administered in a particular way, is effective in delaying the onset of ELD thereby facilitating an increase in exercise performance. Over time, this can lead to an increase in exercise capacity and an improvement in long-term prognosis.

Pre-reading (recommended)

Engel R, Vemulpad S. The effect of combining spinal manipulation with exercise on the respiratory function of normal individuals: a randomized control trial. Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics. 2007;30: 509-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2007.07.006  

Engel RM, Vemulpad S, Beath K. Short term effects of combining manual therapy and exercise in people with moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a preliminary clinical trial. Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics. 2013; 36:490-496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2013.05.028  

Engel RM, Gonski P, Beath K, Vemulpad S. Medium term effects of including manual therapy in a pulmonary rehabilitation program for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a randomized controlled pilot trial. Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy. 2016; 24: 80 89. https://doi.org/10.1179/2042618614y.0000000074  

Cruz-Montecinos C, Godoy-Olave D, Contreras-Briceno FA, Gutiérrez P, Torres-Castro R, Miret-Venegas L, Engel RM. The immediate effect of soft tissue manual therapy intervention on lung function in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a case series. International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. 2017; 12:691-696. https://doi.org/10.2147/copd.s127742  

Engel RM, de Luca K, Graham PL, Farshchi MK, Vemulpad S, Byles J. Predictors of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in women who never smoked: A cohort study. ERJ Open. 2022; 8:00532-2021. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00532-2021  

Engel RM, Gonski P, Vemulpad S, Graham P. The long-term effect of exercise with and without manual therapy for mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention. 2024;44: 257-265. https://doi.org/10.1097/hcr.0000000000000871  

Roger Engel is an Osteopath and Chiropractor with over 40 years’ experience in clinical practice in Australia, the US and Indonesia. He currently holds appointments as Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences at Macquarie University. Roger is a clinician scientist who has been involved in clinical research for more than 25 years. His research interests cover several fields including the non-pharmacological management of chronic respiratory disease, paediatric and maternal care, and more recently post-concussion syndrome. He has authored over 75 papers in peer-reviewed journals and supervises PhD and Masters Research students. 

«Title – to be announced» 

Christian Fossum, DO, is an Associate Professor at the School of Health Sciences, Kristiania University College. His previous roles include Assistant Professor, Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (USA); Associate Director, AT Still Research Institute (USA); Vice Principal of the European School of Osteopathy (UK). He has lectured worldwide at under- and postgraduate levels, co-authored numerous papers and articles, and received several awards for his services to the osteopathic profession.