UIW Healthcare Faculty Awarded $100,000 grant from the American Osteopathic Association

Faculty members from UIW's health professions schools continue to demonstrate their commitment to expanding new medical horizons, as they were just awarded a $100,000 grant from the American Osteopathic Association to study new treatment options for knee osteoarthritis. For the next two years, UIW faculty and collaborative team members will utilize these funds to conduct a pilot clinical trial that will test the efficacy of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) combined with Physical Therapy (PT) to improve knee pain and function in adult patients.

Roberto Fajardo, PhD, UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) associate professor in the Department of Clinical and Applied Science Education, will lead this research team, which consists of faculty from UIWSOM (Scott Leggoe, DO and Jaydee Foster, MA), the UIW School of Rehabilitation Sciences (Scott Shaffer, PT, PhD, ECS; Brady Sams, PT, DPT, OCS and Megan Ware, PT. DPT, ScD), the UIW School of Mathematics, Science and Engineering (Rafiul Islam, PhD) and Matthew Morrey, MD from Ortho-San Antonio.

"This combination approach of OMT and PT aims to identify safe, effective, non-drug options to help patients stay active and improve their quality of life," noted Fajardo. "Our research team has been working with patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis for several years. Together with Foster and Morrey, we created a free clinic called Amigos en Medicina to serve Southside San Antonio residents. This clinic is a partnership between UIWSOM, the UIW School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ortho San Antonio and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System."

Fajardo noted that this grant, as part of the Research Grant in Acute and Chronic Pain Management program, will build directly on the work their team has already been doing within the community. With a multidisciplinary team consisting of professionals in osteopathic medicine, physical therapy, orthopedic surgery and data analysis, their combined knowledge will enable them to test and assess the impacts of such treatments.

As there is presently no cure for osteoarthritis, PT is the standard approach used to relieve pain, improve movement and delay surgery. By incorporating OMT with PT, the team hopes to make discoveries that can further improve treatment outcomes.

"With guidance from our clinical and research team, we will also study how long these benefits last," said Fajardo. "We want to know if improvements continue for one month, three months, or longer after treatment ends. This will help doctors choose the best treatment plan for patients with knee osteoarthritis."

As Fajardo and his colleagues prepare to conduct further research, he feels that this project reflects the strength of collaboration across UIW and the San Antonio medical community. He and his team hope their work will not only improve treatment options but also build trust and engagement within the community.