Initiating the development of an in vitro model to elucidate the therapeutic potential of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment

This research presentation describes preliminary development of an in vitro model intended to mimic the mechanical stretch-hold-release component of myofascial release, an osteopathic manipulative treatment technique used for musculoskeletal pain. Adipose stem cells were cultured on stretchable silicone wells and exposed to repeated uniaxial stretch-hold-release cycles, while unstretched cultures served as controls. Crystal violet microscopy indicated clear morphological differences following mechanical stimulation. The presenters report that stretched cells were smaller, developed more cellular processes and intercellular connections, and adopted a more pronounced uniaxial growth orientation compared with unstretched cells. A CCK-8 assay was also used to examine cell growth after mechanical stimulation. The dedicated proliferation-results slide states that stretch-hold-release cycles did not have a significant effect on ASC growth properties. The presentation nevertheless concludes more broadly that the experiments produced differences in ASC morphology and growth compared with static cultures, creating some internal inconsistency in how the proliferation findings are described. Overall, the work establishes a preliminary CellScale-based mechanobiology model for studying how repetitive mechanical stretch resembling myofascial release may influence tissue-resident stem-cell morphology, organization, intercellular connectivity, and potentially other cellular responses that could help explain biological effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment.