SynthesisFrontiers in neurology2026
Comparative effectiveness of non-invasive interventions for stage I post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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
Background: To compare the effectiveness of non-invasive interventions for pain, upper-limb motor function, and activities of daily living in patients with stage I post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) using network meta-analysis. Methods: Randomized controlled trials evaluating non-invasive interventions for stage I SHS were systematically retrieved. Outcomes included visual analogue scale (VAS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), and Barthel Index (BI). Mean differences (MDs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated, and surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) values were calculated. Results: Thirty-six RCTs involving 2,769 participants were included. The VAS, FMA-UE, and BI networks included 24, 28, and 18 RCTs, respectively. Compared with conventional treatment (CT), VAS scores were significantly reduced by kinesiology taping (KT) (MD = -1.95, 95% CI - 2.85 to -1.05), air pressure therapy (AT) (MD = -2.30, -4.31 to -0.29), Traditional Chinese Medicine External Herbal Therapy (TCM-EHT) (MD = -1.36, -2.08 to -0.64), Traditional Chinese Medicine External Physical Stimulation (TCM-EPS) (MD = -1.43, -2.36 to -0.50), and moxibustion (MD = -1.52, -2.53 to -0.51). FMA-UE improved with TCM-EPS (SMD = 2.12, 0.03 to 4.21), TCM-EHT (SMD = 2.07, 0.62 to 3.52), and KT (SMD = 2.32, 0.04 to 4.61). BI improved with TCM-EHT (SMD = 3.64, 1.76 to 5.51), TCM-EPS (SMD = 2.55, 0.60 to 4.50), and KT (SMD = 1.98, 0.27 to 3.70). However, 95% prediction intervals for all statistically significant comparisons crossed the null. AT, KT, and TCM-EHT ranked highest for VAS, FMA-UE, and BI, respectively. No statistically significant global inconsistency was detected, although localized disagreement was identified for CT versus TCM-EHT in the VAS network. Conclusion: Non-invasive interventions showed outcome-specific potential benefits, but no intervention demonstrated consistent superiority across all outcomes. Although AT and KT ranked favorably for pain and KT, TCM-EPS, and TCM-EHT for functional outcomes, wide prediction intervals indicated substantial uncertainty. Given methodological limitations and imprecision, findings should be interpreted cautiously and confirmed by adequately powered multicentre RCTs. Systematic review registration: The publicly accessible registration record is available through the PROSPERO database: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251276361. The systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (registration number: CRD420251276361).
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.