Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2025
Contextual and placebo effects of suboccipital myofascial release: evaluating its influence on pain threshold, cervical range of motion, and proprioception.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06761391 (Immediate Effects of Suboccipital Myofascial Release on Pain Pressure Threshold, Range of Motion, Balance, and Proprioception), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
Immediate Effects of Suboccipital Myofascial Release on Pain Pressure Threshold, Range of Motion, Balance, and Proprioception
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSuboccipital myofascial release (MR) is widely used in manual therapy for addressing cervical dysfunction. However, its specific therapeutic effects remain unclear, especially when compared to sham interventions, raising questions about the roles of contextual and placebo influences.
objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the immediate effects of suboccipital MR on pain pressure threshold(PPT), cervical range of motion (ROM), and proprioception, while considering the influence of non-specific effects such as placebo and contextual factors.
methodsA single-blind, sham-controlled randomized study was conducted with 30 asymptomatic participants (15 per group). The MR group received five minutes of suboccipital myofascial release, while the sham group received light touch without therapeutic pressure.Outcomes included PPT, cervical ROM (flexion, extension, and rotation), and proprioception, measured before and immediately after the intervention. A 2 × 2 mixed ANOVA was used to analyze group × time interaction and main effects. Paired t-tests were used as supportive within-group analyses.
resultsThe MR group showed within-group improvements in PPT (e.g., left-side PPT increased from 7.31 ± 2.58 to 8.67 ± 1.98 kg/cm², p = 0.028), cervical ROM (e.g., flexion improved from 57.00 ± 9.05° to 64.00 ± 9.60°, p = 0.0004), and proprioception (e.g., flexion reposition error decreased from 5.77 ± 2.24° to 3.70 ± 2.40°, p = 0.006). However, no significant group × time interactions were observed for any outcome, suggesting similar changes in both MR and sham groups.
conclusionsSuboccipital MR produced significant within-group improvements in PPT, cervical ROM, and proprioception. However, the absence of significant differences between the MR and sham interventions suggests that non-specific or contextual factors may account for the observed effects. Further studies are needed in symptomatic populations with longer follow-up and objective outcome measures to determine the specific efficacy of MR.
trial registrationThis study was retrospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT06761391 on January 5, 2025.
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