SynthesisPloS one2021
Do manual therapies have a specific autonomic effect? An overview of systematic reviews.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07393815 (Physiological Responses to Graded Manual Pressure in Healthy Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Physiological Responses to Graded Manual Pressure in Healthy Adults: a Randomized Experimental Study on Autonomic, Hormonal, Sensory and Vascular Outcomes
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of mobilization or manipulation of the thoracic spine on autonomic nervous system markers in symptomatic and asymptomatic participants - a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of spinal manipulation in influencing the autonomic nervous system - a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of manual osteopathic techniques on the autonomic nervous system, respiratory system function and head-cervical-shoulder complex-a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Integrating Chair Yoga and Manual Therapy Into Hypertension Management: Effects on Autonomic Regulation, Muscle Viscoelasticity, and Mental Well-Being.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2026Trial
- Autonomic correlates of osteopathic manipulative treatment on facial functional mapping: an innovative approach based on thermal imaging.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Modulation of Heart Rate Variability following PAP Ion Magnetic Induction Intervention in Subjects with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Are changes in pain associated with changes in heart rate variability in patients treated for recurrent or persistent neck pain?BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Trial
- Heart Rate Variability Nomogram Predicts Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Moderate to High Burden of Premature Ventricular Complexes.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Technologies to investigate the mechanisms of force-based manipulations: a narrative methods review.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- PAPIMI Short Effect on Pain Perception and Heart Rate Variability in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Neuromuscular Response to High-Velocity, Low-Amplitude Spinal Manipulation-An Overview.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- The Effect of Audible Joint Manipulation Sounds in the Upper Cervical Spine on Brain Wave and Autonomic Nervous System Activity.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Rotating-pulling-poking manipulation effectively alleviates pain symptoms of lateral ankle sprain: an animal experimental study.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Heart rate variability measurement and influencing factors: Towards the standardization of methodology.Global cardiology science & practice · 2024Review
- Review
- Does Osteopathic Heart-Focused Palpation Modify Heart Rate Variability in Stressed Participants with Musculoskeletal Pain? A Randomised Controlled Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Time to evolve: the applicability of pain phenotyping in manual therapy.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2022Article
- Efficacy and Feasibility of an Osteopathic Intervention for Neurocognitive and Behavioral Symptoms Usually Associated With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
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
backgroundThe impact of manual therapy interventions on the autonomic nervous system have been largely assessed, but with heterogeneous findings regarding the direction of these effects. We conducted an overview of systematic reviews to describe if there is a specific autonomic effect elicited by manual therapy interventions, its relation with the type of technique used and the body region where the intervention was applied.
methodsWe conducted an overview according to a publicly registered protocol. We searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, EPISTEMONIKOS and SCOPUS, from their inception to march 2021. We included systematic reviews for which the primary aim of the intervention was to assess the autonomic effect elicited by a manual therapy intervention in either healthy or symptomatic individuals. Two authors independently applied the selection criteria, assessed risk of bias from the included reviews and extracted data. An established model of generalisation guided the data analysis and interpretation.
resultsWe included 12 reviews (5 rated as low risk of bias according the ROBIS tool). The findings showed that manual therapies may have an effect on both sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. However, the results from included reviews were inconsistent due to differences in their methodological rigour and how the effects were measured. The reviews with a lower risk of bias could not discriminate the effects depending on the body region to which the technique was applied.
conclusionThe magnitude of the specific autonomic effect elicited by manual therapies and its clinical relevance is uncertain. We point out some specific recommendations in order to improve the quality and relevance of future research in this field.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.