Osteopathic approach to the treatment of a patient with idiopathic iliohypogastric neuralgia

Abstract

Iliohypogastric neuralgia is an uncommon etiology of lower abdominal pain caused by entrapment of the iliohypogastric nerve. Conventional management consists of medications, injections, and surgery; previous literature has not explored the use of osteopathic manipulative medicine for management of iliohypogastric neuralgia. Here, the author discusses the case of a 72-year-old woman who presented with 2 years of right lower abdominal pain, having failed multiple treatments, including exploratory laparoscopy and appendectomy. Following management of the patient’s somatic dysfunc-tions with osteopathic manipulative treatment and a heel lift, her iliohypogas-tric neuralgia was significantly improved.