Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation

Segmental neurological modulation, neural hysteresis and biomechanical effects have been proposed as mechanisms underpinning the effects of manual therapy. An increasing number of studies hypothesise activation of the central nervous system resulting in a non-segmental hypoalgesic effect with concur...

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Main Authors: Schmid, A., Brunner, F., Wright, Tony, Bachmann, L.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Churchill Livingstone 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15646
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author Schmid, A.
Brunner, F.
Wright, Tony
Bachmann, L.
author_facet Schmid, A.
Brunner, F.
Wright, Tony
Bachmann, L.
author_sort Schmid, A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Segmental neurological modulation, neural hysteresis and biomechanical effects have been proposed as mechanisms underpinning the effects of manual therapy. An increasing number of studies hypothesise activation of the central nervous system resulting in a non-segmental hypoalgesic effect with concurrent activation of other neural pathways as a potential mechanism of action. Whether this model is consistent with the current literature is unknown. This systematic review aims to assess the consistency of evidence supporting an involvement of supraspinal systems in mediating the effects of passive cervical joint mobilisation. We searched randomised trials in three electronic databases from inception to November 2007, without language restriction, and checked reference lists of included studies. We assessed study validity and extracted salient features in duplicate. Fifteen studies met our inclusion criteria. The overall quality was high. We found consistency for concurrent hypoalgesia, sympathetic nervous system excitation and changes in motor function. Pooling of data suggested that joint mobilisation improved outcomes by approximately 20% relative to controls. This specific pattern suggests that descending pathways might play a key role in manual therapy induced hypoalgesia. Our review supports the existence of an alternative neurophysiological model, in which passive joint mobilisation stimulates areas within the central nervous system. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-156462017-09-13T13:41:44Z Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation Schmid, A. Brunner, F. Wright, Tony Bachmann, L. Segmental neurological modulation, neural hysteresis and biomechanical effects have been proposed as mechanisms underpinning the effects of manual therapy. An increasing number of studies hypothesise activation of the central nervous system resulting in a non-segmental hypoalgesic effect with concurrent activation of other neural pathways as a potential mechanism of action. Whether this model is consistent with the current literature is unknown. This systematic review aims to assess the consistency of evidence supporting an involvement of supraspinal systems in mediating the effects of passive cervical joint mobilisation. We searched randomised trials in three electronic databases from inception to November 2007, without language restriction, and checked reference lists of included studies. We assessed study validity and extracted salient features in duplicate. Fifteen studies met our inclusion criteria. The overall quality was high. We found consistency for concurrent hypoalgesia, sympathetic nervous system excitation and changes in motor function. Pooling of data suggested that joint mobilisation improved outcomes by approximately 20% relative to controls. This specific pattern suggests that descending pathways might play a key role in manual therapy induced hypoalgesia. Our review supports the existence of an alternative neurophysiological model, in which passive joint mobilisation stimulates areas within the central nervous system. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15646 10.1016/j.math.2007.12.007 Churchill Livingstone restricted
spellingShingle Schmid, A.
Brunner, F.
Wright, Tony
Bachmann, L.
Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation
title Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation
title_full Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation
title_fullStr Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation
title_full_unstemmed Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation
title_short Paradigm shift in manual therapy? Evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation
title_sort paradigm shift in manual therapy? evidence for a central nervous system component in the response to passive cervical joint mobilisation
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15646