To investigate the effectiveness of TSM on TSP.
An electronic search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PEDro and Clinical Trials registry during October and November 2023. Randomized controlled trials comparing TSM to placebo or other conservative treatments were included. A methodological quality assessment of the included studies was made using the PEDro scale. Mean differences and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated for primary pain variables based on reported means and standard deviations at baseline and follow-ups.
After screening 11,808 records, five studies were included (456 participants at baseline). The PEDro scale varied from 4 to 9 out of a maximum of 10. Four out of five of the included studies concluded that TSM is more effective than placebo for TSP in the short-term, but only one study reached nearly the level of clinically important change.
TSM seems to be an effective treatment in patients suffering from non-specific TSP in the short-term. However, strong clinical recommendations can’t be made because of the rather small number of participants in the included studies, and most of the studies did not reach the level of clinically important change.
Thoracic spine manipulation seems to be effective treatment for TSP, but the effect may be mild to moderate and only for short-term.
Pain
Manipultaion
