Osteopathy for Neuropathy: the NeuOst Study

Our active research team pioneer new forms of osteopathic research and contribute to the body of knowledge about osteopathy.

People with diabetes and associated nerve damage (diabetic peripheral neuropathy) lack good treatment options. Pain associated with this condition can be severely debilitating and lead to sleep problems and other limitations. Unfortunately, available drug treatments for neuropathic pain are not very effective or come with side effects. We are exploring a new drug-free approach built on manual therapy, exercises, and pain management strategies: Welcome to the NeuOst project!

Osteopaths mainly treat people with pain, often back pain or injuries. Apart from being experts in pain management, they also provide exercise programmes and lifestyle advice. We are exploring if osteopaths can successfully care for people with painful diabetic neuropathy.

In a first project stage, we have spoken to people with diabetes and neuropathy as well as osteopaths with experience in their treatment. We did so because the potential end-users are at the heart of our work; and we learned a lot about what might be useful for patients and what might be difficult. We have also teamed up with expert clinicians in diabetes management, exercise, and psychological pain management to design the new treatment programme. An international, high-profile collaboration with experts from King’s College London, Oxford University, Imperial College, and many more!

During the current stage, we are running a small clinical trial. To do so, we trained qualified osteopaths in the NeuOst intervention. In the clinical trial, we are testing if this can be an acceptable treatment for people with painful diabetic neuropathy and if we could run a larger study later on.

Our clinical study at the UCO has successfully recruited all the required participants! 

For more information and to stay updated on the latest developments regarding the NeuOst study, please subscribe to our newsletter here. 

In this study, we want to learn how patients like the NeuOst treatment and assess the feasibility of a larger study. 

Recruitment was successfully completed at the end of January 2025, and the participants involved in this study will participate for approximately 16 weeks. At their first visit, the remaining participants were assigned to one of three groups: the new treatment, a similar one for comparison, or to continue their usual medical care only and have no further visits. Patients in the first two groups will have up to 5 treatment visits, and there will be two phone calls for assessments for everyone a few weeks after that. The treatments of this study will be given by fully qualified and registered osteopaths with specialist training for this study. 

The study is conducted at the UCO clinic in Southwark, central London (118 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 0BQ). 

Travel costs were covered (up to £11.40 per visit), and participants received £15 for each assessment as a token of appreciation for their time (up to £60). 

If you would like more information and to stay updated on the latest developments regarding this study, please subscribe to our newsletter here. 

For more details, the study team could be contacted at 07523629286 or via email at david.Schmidt@uco.ac.uk or sam.tan@uco.ac.uk. 

Personal information is treated as private. This study received approval from the UCO Research Ethics Committee and follows UK rules. 

We hope you will stay connected with the study by subscribing to our newsletter for any future updates, including the results, future trials, and being a part in our efforts to improve the lives of people with diabetes and nerve pain. 

Contact us!

If you are interested in staying involved and updated with the latest developments regarding the NeuOst study, you can subscribe to our newsletter here. 

You can also contact Dr David Hohenschurz-Schmidt who is the running this study, or Sam who is part of the study team: 

Email:
david.Schmidt@uco.ac.uk
sam.tan@uco.ac.uk 

Phone:
07523629286 

Governance and Ethics

This research is led by Dr David Hohenschurz-Schmidt, osteopath and pain researcher at UCO and at Imperial College London. The project sponsor is the UCO, represented by Steven Vogel, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research).

The project is kindly supported by funding from The Osteopathic Foundation, the Alan and Sheila Diamond Charitable Trust, and the Society for Back Pain Research.

The NeuOst trial is overseen by an independent trial steering and data and ethics monitoring committee, including independent experts and a patient partner. All processes and materials undergo formal review by the UCO Research Ethics Committee.