SynthesisThe Journal of manual & manipulative therapy2026
The effects of fascial manipulation on pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Fascia as a Functional System in Health and Disease: From Fundamental Biology to Assessment and Targeted Interventions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- A review of the synergistic mechanisms of Yijinjing, meridian sinew therapy, dry needling, and Fascial Manipulation in chronic cervical myofascial pain based on the fascia-meridian sinew continuum.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Review
- Exploring fascia in myofascial pain syndrome: an integrative model of mechanisms.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the effects of fascial manipulation (FM) on pain alleviation in adults, providing valuable insights for future research and practitioners by addressing a significant gap in the existing literature.
methodsSystematic review with meta-analysis. Key databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, were searched for relevant studies. The eligibility criteria required randomized clinical trials involving adults (>18 years) with musculoskeletal pain, who participated in FM, and included either true control or active control groups as comparators. To assess the risk of bias, the PEDro scale was used, while the certainty of the evidence was evaluated using the GRADE scale. Out of the initial pool of 138 studies, 15 were determined to be eligible for inclusion in this systematic review.
resultsResults showed significant favoring effect for the FM compared to the active-control group in pain-related outcomes (ES = -0.80, 95% CI -1.30 to -0.29,
conclusionsAlthough the included studies provide evidence of very low certainty - given the small sample sizes, lack of blinding, and significant limitations in the intervention - the meta-analysis suggests that FM may potentially be beneficial in reducing pain associated with various musculoskeletal conditions. However, more robust research is needed to strengthen these findings, with a focus on increasing the number of blinded studies, reducing methodological heterogeneity, and further exploring the underlying mechanisms that may explain the observed trends in the evidence.
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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.