Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control Trial
<b>Background</b>: Firefighters’ work exposes them to high levels of stress. Oxytocin (OXT) and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) are hormones released in response to stress. Prolonged exposure to stress can have negative effects, such as increased blood pressure and glucose levels,...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Małgorzata Wójcik Idzi Siatkowski |
| author_facet | Małgorzata Wójcik Idzi Siatkowski |
| author_sort | Małgorzata Wójcik |
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| description | <b>Background</b>: Firefighters’ work exposes them to high levels of stress. Oxytocin (OXT) and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) are hormones released in response to stress. Prolonged exposure to stress can have negative effects, such as increased blood pressure and glucose levels, and a weakened immune system. <b>Methods</b>: This study involved 57 fire department cadets, randomly divided into craniosacral therapy (CS) and contralateral therapy (CO) groups. This study aimed to check whether 5-week craniosacral therapy affects CRH and OXT levels, determined from blood. <b>Results</b>: For the CS group, CRH_1 and CRH_2 showed slight increases in median values, 1.73 vs. 2.16, and OXT_1 and OXT_2 showed significant increases in median values, 54.71 vs. 57.77. Spearman’s correlation coefficient for CRH_1 vs. OXT_1 was r = 0.26, <i>p</i> = 0.124; similarly, for CRH_2 vs. OXT_2 was r = −0.02, <i>p</i> = 0.920; for CRH_ 1 vs. CRH_2 was r = 0.25, <i>p</i> = 0.173; and for OXT_1 vs. OXT_2 was r = 0.77, <i>p</i> < 0.00001. The values of the point statistics for CRH were similar in CO_1 and CS_1. After the end of therapy, in the CS_2 group, the values of the point statistics were greater than those for the CO_2 group. The median values for oxytocin in the CO_1 group were greater than those in the CS_1 group. After the end of therapy, in the CO_2 group, the values of the scoring statistics were smaller than those for the CS_2 group. The effect of the intervention in the CS group and the CO group showed a significance of <i>p</i> = 0.0003 and <i>p</i> = 0.023. <b>Conclusions</b>: After the end of therapy, a significant increase in OXT levels was observed, as well as a slight increase in CRH levels. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2937e831e4984da5a4805b4d4da2bfce |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2218-1989 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| series | Metabolites |
| spelling | doaj-art-2937e831e4984da5a4805b4d4da2bfce2025-08-20T03:16:19ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892025-06-0115637410.3390/metabo15060374Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control TrialMałgorzata Wójcik0Idzi Siatkowski1Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Sport Sciences in Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poznan University of Physical Education, 61-871 Gorzów Wielkopolski, PolandDepartment of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznan University of Life Science, 60-637 Poznań, Poland<b>Background</b>: Firefighters’ work exposes them to high levels of stress. Oxytocin (OXT) and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) are hormones released in response to stress. Prolonged exposure to stress can have negative effects, such as increased blood pressure and glucose levels, and a weakened immune system. <b>Methods</b>: This study involved 57 fire department cadets, randomly divided into craniosacral therapy (CS) and contralateral therapy (CO) groups. This study aimed to check whether 5-week craniosacral therapy affects CRH and OXT levels, determined from blood. <b>Results</b>: For the CS group, CRH_1 and CRH_2 showed slight increases in median values, 1.73 vs. 2.16, and OXT_1 and OXT_2 showed significant increases in median values, 54.71 vs. 57.77. Spearman’s correlation coefficient for CRH_1 vs. OXT_1 was r = 0.26, <i>p</i> = 0.124; similarly, for CRH_2 vs. OXT_2 was r = −0.02, <i>p</i> = 0.920; for CRH_ 1 vs. CRH_2 was r = 0.25, <i>p</i> = 0.173; and for OXT_1 vs. OXT_2 was r = 0.77, <i>p</i> < 0.00001. The values of the point statistics for CRH were similar in CO_1 and CS_1. After the end of therapy, in the CS_2 group, the values of the point statistics were greater than those for the CO_2 group. The median values for oxytocin in the CO_1 group were greater than those in the CS_1 group. After the end of therapy, in the CO_2 group, the values of the scoring statistics were smaller than those for the CS_2 group. The effect of the intervention in the CS group and the CO group showed a significance of <i>p</i> = 0.0003 and <i>p</i> = 0.023. <b>Conclusions</b>: After the end of therapy, a significant increase in OXT levels was observed, as well as a slight increase in CRH levels.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/6/374stressfirefighterscraniosacral therapyalternative medicinecorticotrophin-releasing hormoneoxytocin |
| spellingShingle | Małgorzata Wójcik Idzi Siatkowski Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control Trial Metabolites stress firefighters craniosacral therapy alternative medicine corticotrophin-releasing hormone oxytocin |
| title | Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control Trial |
| title_full | Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control Trial |
| title_fullStr | Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control Trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control Trial |
| title_short | Application of Craniosacral Therapy Versus Blood Levels of Corticoliberin and Oxytocin in Male Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Stress—A Randomised Control Trial |
| title_sort | application of craniosacral therapy versus blood levels of corticoliberin and oxytocin in male firefighters exposed to occupational stress a randomised control trial |
| topic | stress firefighters craniosacral therapy alternative medicine corticotrophin-releasing hormone oxytocin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/6/374 |
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