Does Evidence Support the Use of Neural Tissue Management to Reduce Pain and Disability in Nerve-related Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain?: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Objectives: In nerve-related chronic musculoskeletal (MS) disorders, neural tissue management is used to relieve pain by balancing the relative movement of neural tissues and their surrounding tissues. To date, there has not been any review evaluating the magnitude of this treatment effect in nerve-related chronic MS pain. The aim of this review was to compare pain and disability in individuals with nerve-related chronic MS pain who were treated with neural tissue management with those who received minimal or other treatment approaches. Methods: Searches of 8 major electronic databases were conducted, and data on pain and disability scores were extracted. Meta-analyses (where possible) with either a fixed-effect(s) or random-effect(s) model, standardized mean differences (SMDs), and tests of heterogeneity were performed. Results: Twenty clinically controlled trials were identified and included in the meta-analyses. When compared with minimal intervention, neural mobilization provided superior pain relief (pooled SMD=−0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], −1.11 to −0.42; P
Source: The Clinical Journal of Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Review Articles Source Type: research