Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34204590›Full record

ReviewHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2021

Muscle Energy Technique in the Rehabilitative Treatment for Acute and Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Systematic Review.

Silvia Sbardella, Chiara La Russa, Andrea Bernetti, Massimiliano Mangone, Andrea Guarnera, Letizia Pezzi, Marco Paoloni, Francesco Agostini, Valter Santilli, Raoul Saggini and 1 more

3 registry-linked trialsAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT05391997 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

Comparative Effects of Cervical Extension Traction Exercises With and Without Modified Cervical and Shoulder Retraction Exercises on Pain, Disability and Cobb's Angle in Patients With Non-specific Neck Pain

TypeinterventionalSponsorRiphah International UniversityRan2022 to 2023Enrolled22ConditionsNeck PainArmsModified Cervical and Shoulder Retraction exercises, Cervical Extension Traction exercises
NCT06664931 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation

Muscle Energy Versus Mulligan Techniques in Treating Patients With Cervical Spondylosis

TypeinterventionalSponsorCairo UniversityRan2024 to 2025Enrolled40ConditionsCervical Spondylosis, Mulligan Mobilization, SNAGs, Muscle Energy TechniqueArmsGroup (A) Muscle Energy Technique (MET), Group (B) Mulligan Mobilizations Techniques (MMT).
NCT06918535 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Vs Muscle Energy Technique on Nonspecific Neck Pain in Prolonged Computer Users. A Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorIQRA UniversityRan2025 to 2026Enrolled60ConditionsNeck Pain, Chronic Neck PainArmsProgressive Muscle Relaxation Technique, Muscle Energy Technique
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Manual physical therapy for neck disorders: an umbrella review.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Silvia SbardellaDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Chiara La RussaDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-0876-4801
Andrea BernettiDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Massimiliano MangoneDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Andrea GuarneraDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Letizia PezziDepartment of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences (DSMOB), G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy.
Marco PaoloniDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-0947-9711
Francesco AgostiniDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3162-3473
Valter SantilliDepartment of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Raoul SagginiDepartment of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences (DSMOB), G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy.
Teresa PaolucciDepartment of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences (DSMOB), G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8694-1404

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNon-specific neck pain (NNP) affects 30-50% of the general population, and it often leads to severe disability. Several manual therapy techniques are available to reduce pain and disability and to improve cervical range of motion and functional activities. Muscle Energy Technique (MET) showed more evidence for treating such a disorder. The aim of this current scientific literature analysis was to compare the clinical effects of MET with the other manual or rehabilitative treatments for non-specific acute and chronic neck pain.

methodsThe literature search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, Medline, PEDro, Cochrane Database, and Google Scholar from 2010 to January 2020. Clinical trials about MET were included. The quality of the trials was assessed according to the PEDro scale.

resultsTwenty-one papers according to inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected: 15 studies about non-specific acute neck pain and 6 studies about non-specific chronic neck pain.

conclusionsThis analysis suggests that the MET approach has a good clinical effect on reducing neck pain in patients with acute neck pain and improves cervical range of motion in patients with chronic neck pain, and is better if combined with a traditional rehabilitative approach. This review's findings should be considered with caution for physiotherapy practice because of the studies' methodologic limitations. On the basis of the current available and limited evidence, clinicians could combine MET with traditional physiotherapy and other manual techniques when treating people with non-specific neck pain.

Indexed as

managementmuscle energy techniqueneck painrehabilitationsystematic reviewupper trapezius trigger points

Identifiers

PMID34204590
PMCPMC8234422

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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 Socratic graph.