Thomas Ewan, Cavallaro Antonio Rosario, Mani Diba, Bianco Antonino, Palma Antonio
1Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Unit, University of Palermo, Via Giovanni Pascoli 6, 90144 Palermo, Italy.
International Academy of Osteopathic Medicine, AISeRCO, Palermo, Italy.
Chiropr Man Therap. 2019 Aug 27;27:35. doi: 10.1186/s12998-019-0258-7. eCollection 2019.
Muscle energy techniques are applied to reduce pain and increase range of motion. These are applied to a variety of pathological conditions and on asymptomatic subjects. There is however limited knowledge on their effectiveness and which protocol may be the most beneficial.
The aim of this review is to determine the efficacy of muscle energy techniques (MET) in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects.
Systematic Review.
A literature search was performed using the following database: Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, NLM Pubmed and ScienceDirect. Studies regarding MET in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients were considered for investigation. The main outcomes took into account range of motion, chronic and acute pain and trigger points. Two trained investigators independently screened eligible studies according to the eligibility criteria, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Randomized control trials (RCT's) were analyzed for quality using the PEDro scale.
A total of 26 studies were considered eligible and included in the quantitative synthesis: 14 regarding symptomatic patients and 12 regarding asymptomatic subjects. Quality assessment of the studies through the PEDro scale observed a "moderate to high" quality of the included records.
MET are an effective treatment for reducing chronic and acute pain of the lower back. MET are also effective in treating chronic neck pain and chronic lateral epicondylitis. MET can be applied to increase range of motion of a joint when a functional limitation is present. Other techniques seem to be more appropriate compared to MET for trigger points.
肌肉能量技术用于减轻疼痛并增加活动范围。这些技术应用于多种病理状况以及无症状受试者。然而，关于其有效性以及哪种方案可能最有益的知识有限。
本综述的目的是确定肌肉能量技术（MET）在有症状和无症状受试者中的疗效。
系统综述。
使用以下数据库进行文献检索：Cochrane图书馆、MEDLINE、NLM Pubmed和ScienceDirect。考虑对无症状和有症状患者中关于MET的研究进行调查。主要结局考虑了活动范围、慢性和急性疼痛以及触发点。两名经过培训的研究人员根据纳入标准独立筛选合格研究、提取数据并评估偏倚风险。使用PEDro量表分析随机对照试验（RCT）的质量。
共有26项研究被认为合格并纳入定量综合分析：14项针对有症状患者，12项针对无症状受试者。通过PEDro量表对研究进行质量评估发现纳入记录的质量为“中等到高”。
MET是减轻下背部慢性和急性疼痛的有效治疗方法。MET在治疗慢性颈部疼痛和慢性外侧上髁炎方面也有效。当存在功能限制时，MET可用于增加关节的活动范围。与MET相比，其他技术似乎更适合用于触发点。
