Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35295453›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland)2021

Impaired Lymphatic Drainage and Interstitial Inflammatory Stasis in Chronic Musculoskeletal and Idiopathic Pain Syndromes: Exploring a Novel Mechanism.

Brian Tuckey, John Srbely, Grant Rigney, Meena Vythilingam, Jay Shah

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06060925 (Multimodal Imaging Biomarkers for Investigating Fascia, Muscle and Vasculature in Myofascial Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06060925 completednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Multimodal Imaging Biomarkers for Investigating Fascia, Muscle and Vasculature in Myofascial Pain

TypeobservationalSponsorGeorge Mason UniversityRan2023 to 2025Enrolled96ConditionsMyofascial Pain Syndrome, HealthyArmsUltrasound imaging, Bioimpedance spectroscopy, Electromyography, Physical examination
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. TWOJournal of clinical medicine · 2026
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  14. ISSLS Prize in Basic Science 2025: Structural changes of muscle spindles in the multifidus muscle after intervertebral disk injury are resolved by targeted activation of the muscle.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Brian TuckeyDepartment of Physical Therapy, Tuckey and Associates Physical Therapy, Frederick, MD, United States.
John SrbelyDepartment of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, ON, Canada.
Grant RigneyDepartment of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Meena VythilingamDepartment of Health and Human Services, Center for Health Innovation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Washington, DC, United States.
Jay ShahDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
American Physical Therapy Association · USNational Institutes of Health Clinical Center · USOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Health · USUniversity of Guelph · CAUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A normal functioning lymphatic pump mechanism and unimpaired venous drainage are required for the body to remove inflammatory mediators from the extracellular compartment. Impaired vascular perfusion and/or lymphatic drainage may result in the accumulation of inflammatory substances in the interstitium, creating continuous nociceptor activation and related pathophysiological states including central sensitization and neuroinflammation. We hypothesize that following trauma and/or immune responses, inflammatory mediators may become entrapped in the recently discovered interstitial, pre-lymphatic pathways and/or initial lymphatic vessels. The ensuing interstitial inflammatory stasis is a pathophysiological state, created by specific pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 6, and interleukin 1b. These cytokines can disable the local lymphatic pump mechanism, impair vascular perfusion via sympathetic activation and, following transforming growth factor beta 1 expression, may lead to additional stasis through direct fascial compression of pre-lymphatic pathways. These mechanisms, when combined with other known pathophysiological processes, enable us to describe a persistent feed-forward loop capable of creating and maintaining chronic pain syndromes. The potential for concomitant visceral and/or vascular dysfunction, initiated and maintained by the same feed-forward inflammatory mechanism, is also described.

Indexed as

counterstrain techniquescytokinesfasciaidiopathic diseasesinterstitial inflammatory stasislymphatic dysfunctionmyofascial pain and dysfunction

Identifiers

PMID35295453
PMCPMC8915610
OpenAlexW3195080997

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.