SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2015
The sympathetic nervous system and tendinopathy: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Is neurogenic inflammation involved in tendinopathy? A systematic review.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Does moxonidine reduce Achilles tendon or musculoskeletal pain in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome? A secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial.BMC endocrine disorders · 2020Trial
- The effect of manual therapy to the thoracic spine on pain-free grip and sympathetic activity in patients with lateral epicondylalgia humeri. A randomized, sample sized planned, placebo-controlled, patient-blinded monocentric trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Trial
- Neuromotor function following lower-limb muscle or tendon injury: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Sports medicine and health science · 2026Review
- Challenge of Corneal Ulcer Healing: A Novel Conceptual Framework, the "Triad" of Corneal Ulcer Healing/Corneal Neovascularization/Intraocular Pressure, and Avascular Tendon Healing, for Evaluation of Corneal Ulcer Therapy, Therapy of Neovascularization, Glaucoma Therapy, and Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 Efficacy.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Current Concepts in Pathogenesis and Conservative Management of Supraspinous Tendinopathies Using Shockwave Therapy-A Narrative Review of the Literature.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Harnessing theta waves: tACS as a breakthrough in alleviating post-stroke chronic pain.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Heart rate variability activity in soccer athletes after a musculoskeletal injury.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2024Article
- Richly innervated soft tissues covering the superficial aspect of the extensor origin in patients with chronic painful tennis elbow - Implication for treatment?Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2017Article
- Nociceptive and sympathetic innervations in the abaxial part of the cranial horn of the equine medial meniscus: an immunohistochemical approach.Journal of anatomy · 2016Article
- Tendon neuroplastic training: changing the way we think about tendon rehabilitation: a narrative review.British journal of sports medicine · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTendinopathy is a clinical diagnosis of localised tendon pain often confirmed by imaging findings. The pathophysiological cause of the pain is unknown and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) may be implicated.
objectiveTo review what is known regarding the role of the SNS in human tendinopathy. STUDY SELECTION: Published data describing sympathetic innervation or an index of sympathetic activity in human tendons were eligible for inclusion. DATA SOURCES: Bibliographical databases (AMED, Biological Abstracts, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science) were searched for relevant articles. Reference lists from included articles were screened for additional articles. STUDY APPRAISAL: Studies were scored with a quality assessment tool to identify potential sources of bias. Each question had an explicit decision rule to guide assessment.
resultsNine case-control and four cross-sectional studies examined sympathetic innervation of tendons. There was evidence suggesting a lack of difference in sympathetic innervation of tendon proper between tendinopathy biopsies and healthy controls. In contrast, the paratendinous tissue showed evidence of increased sympathetic innervation in painful tendons. The most notable increase in SNS markers was seen in abnormal tenocytes from painful tendons. Data from two studies were suitable for meta-analysis. These heterogeneous studies revealed no difference in sympathetic innervation between painful and pain-free tendons. No studies recorded SNS activity in vivo.
conclusionSympathetic innervation in painful tendons depends on tissue type. Abnormal tenocytes may have increased capacity for self-production of sympathetic neurotransmitters. Future insight may be gained by measuring global in vivo sympathetic drive in tendinopathy.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.