Systematic review on the effects of physiotherapy neural mobilization techniques
Keywords:
neural mobilization, physical therapy, health, rehabilitationAbstract
Introduction: Neural mobilization consists of combinations of joint movements that promote gliding or tensioning of neural tissue. These can be performed passively by the healthcare professional or actively by the individual.
Objective: To synthesize the evidence from previous studies on the effects of physiotherapy neural mobilization techniques on different pathologies and injuries.
Methods: A total of 1,036 studies were identified using the selected descriptors, with 649 from the Web of Science Core Collection, 302 from Medline, 7 from SciELO, and 78 from PEDro. In the final selection, 11 original and experimental studies, specifically controlled clinical trials, were included in the review.
Results: Three studies were conducted in Europe, five in Asia, and three in Africa. The sample size ranged from 21 to 62 university students. The main effects were studied in radiculopathy (chronic unilateral cervical, lumbar due to a herniated disc, chronic low back pain), nerve-related neck and arm pain, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, Bell's palsy, patients after lumbar laminectomy, joint pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and cervicobrachial pain.
Conclusions: The neural mobilization technique has beneficial effects on various pathologies.
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