Trial reportJournal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine2015
Sleep position trainer versus tennis ball technique in positional obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
Trial report in Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04086407 (The Effect of Head Pitch and Roll Rotation Independent of Torso Rotation on the AHI in Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea), which is not on this map. Cited by 51 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Head Pitch and Roll Rotation Independent of Torso Rotation on the AHI in Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparative efficacy of sleep positional therapy, oral appliance therapy, and CPAP in obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis of mean changes in key outcomes.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Oral appliance therapy vs. positional therapy for managing positional obstructive sleep apnea; a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials.BMC oral health · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- European Respiratory Society guideline on non-CPAP therapies for obstructive sleep apnoea.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2021Guideline
- Positional therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Efficacy of the New Generation of Devices for Positional Therapy for Patients With Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- Patient compliance and satisfaction with a new forehead device for positional obstructive sleep apnoea treatment: a post hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open respiratory research · 2023Trial
- Effect of position therapy and oral devices on sleep parameters in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- NightBalance Sleep Position Treatment Device Versus Auto-Adjusting Positive Airway Pressure for Treatment of Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Modifying maternal sleep position in the third trimester of pregnancy with positional therapy: a randomised pilot trial.BMJ open · 2018Trial
- Durability of treatment effects of the Sleep Position Trainer versus oral appliance therapy in positional OSA: 12-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2018Trial
- Positional therapy in sleep apnoea - one fits all? What determines success in positional therapy in sleep apnoea syndrome.PloS one · 2017Trial
- Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Vibrotactile Device for Positional Therapy of Sleep-Disordered Breathing: A Pilot Study in Healthy Volunteers.Clocks & sleep · 2026Article
- Review
- Positional Therapy: A Real Opportunity in the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea? An Update from the Literature.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Sex- and age-differences in supine positional obstructive sleep apnea in children and adults.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
objectivePositional therapy (PT) is an effective therapy in positional obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (POSAS) when used, but the compliance of PT is low. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a new kind of PT is effective and can improve compliance.
methods29 patients were treated with the Sleep Position Trainer (SPT), 26 patients with the Tennis Ball Technique (TBT). At baseline and 1 month polysomnography, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the Quebec Sleep Questionnaire (QSQ) were taken. Daily compliance was objectively measured in both groups.
resultsBoth therapies prevent supine sleep position to a median of 0% (min-max: SPT 0.0% to 67%, TBT 0.0% to 38.9%), resulting in a treatment success (AHI <5) in 68.0% of the SPT and 42.9% of the TBT patients. The ESS at baseline was <10 in both groups. Sleep quality parameters as wake after sleep onset (WASO; p = 0.001) and awakenings (p = 0.006) improved more in the SPT group. Total QSQ scores (0.4±0.2, p = 0.03) and the QSQ domains nocturnal symptoms (0.7±0.2, p = 0.01) and social interactions (0.8±0.3, p = 0.02) changed in favor of the SPT group. Effective compliance (≥4 h/night + ≥5 days/week) was 75.9% for the SPT and 42.3% for the TBT users (p = 0.01).
conclusionIn mild POSAS with normal EES the new SPT device and the standard TBT are equally effective in reducing respiratory indices. However, compared to the TBT, sleep quality, quality of life, and compliance improved significantly more in the SPT group.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.