In the 15 years since the publication of two previous reviews on restraint stress much advancement has been made in the field. However, while previous reviews have focused mainly on drug effects, recent research has focused on broader implications in the health fields. This research has placed an increased emphasis on stress effects in physiological, immunological, endocrine and developmental processes as well as the impact of stress on numerous disorders. A major problem with our review was the inability to identify a large number of articles focusing on restraint and immobilization, since those keywords were often omitted from the title or not referred to within the body of the article. It seems likely that additional reviews with extended literature research of this field are required.