SynthesisThe Journal of manual & manipulative therapy2025
Manual physical therapy for neck disorders: an umbrella review.
Synthesis in The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy associated with multimodal therapeutic intervention program versus multimodal therapeutic intervention program in chronic non-specific neck pain: A randomized controlled trial.Brazilian journal of physical therapy · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of Thoracic Spine Manipulation for the Management of Neck Pain: A Systematic Umbrella Review with Risk of Bias and Methodological and Reporting Quality.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Assessment and Rehabilitation in Cervical Radiculopathy-Efficacy of Structured Program with or Without Neurotrophic Agents.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effectiveness and Safety of Tuina Therapy Combined With Yijinjing Exercise for Neck Pain: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionNeck pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder, with a prevalence rate (age-standardized) of 27.0 per 1000 in 2019. Approximately 50-85% of individuals with acute neck pain do not experience complete resolution of symptoms, experiencing chronic pain. Manual therapy is a widely employed treatment approach for nonspecific neck pain (NSNP), cervical radiculopathy (CR) and cervicogenic headaches (CGH). This umbrella review synthesized systematic reviews examining manual physical therapy for individuals with cervical disorders.
methodsPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed with Prospero registration (CRD42022327434). Four databases were searched from January 2016 to May 2023 for systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis examining manual therapy for individuals with neck pain of any stage. Interventions included any manual physical therapy of the cervical or thoracic spine as well as neuromobilization of the upper quarter. Primary outcomes included pain and disability. Two reviewers screened for eligibility and completed data extraction. Methodological quality was assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR 2) tool.
resultsA total of 35 SRs were included: 15 NSNP, 7 cervical radiculopathy, 9 CGH and 4 samples with combined diagnoses. AMSTAR 2 ratings of the SRs support high confidence in results for 10 reviews, moderate confidence in 12 reviews and low to critically low confidence in 13 reviews. For NSNP, there was high confidence in the results showing manual therapy combined with exercise was superior to either treatment in isolation. In cervical radiculopathy, neural mobilization, distraction, soft tissue treatment and mobilization/manipulation to cervical and thoracic spine were supported with moderate confidence in results. For CGH, there was high confidence in the results supporting the use of cervical spine mobilization/manipulation, soft tissue mobilization, and manual therapy combined with exercise. Original authors of SRs reported varying quality of primary studies with lack of consistent high quality/low risk of bias designs.
conclusionManual therapy plus exercise, cervical or thoracic mobilization and manipulation, neuromobilization, and other types of manual therapy were supported as effective interventions in the management of pain and disability for individuals with NSNP, CGH, or CR in the short-term.
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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.