Trial reportSports health
Comparative Efficacy of Robotic and Manual Massage Interventions on Performance and Well-Being: A Randomized Crossover Trial.
Trial report in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Face acupoint recognition and localization based on geometric topological relationships.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2026Article
- Clinical Practice and Mechanism Exploration on Traditional Chinese Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Spinal Degenerative Diseases: A Review.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2026Review
- Design and experimental validation of a soft pneumatic robotic device for preterm infant skin-to-skin tactile therapy.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2026Article
- Classical back massage is associated with lower heart rate and sustained mean skin conductance during recovery after cognitive load: an exploratory controlled pilot study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- A novel intelligent physiotherapy robot based on dynamic acupoint recognition method.Frontiers in neurorobotics · 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundManual massage (MM) interventions can improve psychophysiological states of relaxation and well-being. In this context, robotic massage (RM) represents a promising, but currently understudied, solution. HYPOTHESIS: Both MM and RM would improve flexibility of the hamstrings and lumbopelvic muscles and promote a psychophysiological state of relaxation through decreased sympathetic activity. STUDY
designSingle-blind randomized crossover trial. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2.
methodsA total of 21 participants experienced 2 massage interventions targeting back soft tissues. During a first condition, the intervention was performed by a physical therapist, whereas during a second condition the intervention was performed by a robot. We collected objective and subjective indexes of performances and well-being before and after each massage intervention. We also collected physical therapists' self-reports of perceived fatigue, tension, and ability to maintain the massage routine.
resultsSkin conductance decreased from the pretest to the posttest in both conditions (partial
conclusionRM exhibited a pattern of changes comparable with that of MM, for both objective and subjective indexes of relaxation and well-being. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: RM could represent a prophylactic option to prevent the onset of counterproductive fatigability in physical therapists.
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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.