Manual therapy
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Reduction of experimental muscle pain by passive physiological movements.
The analgesic effects of passive movements on deep-tissue pain have not been sufficiently explored in human studies. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of passive physiological movements (PPMs) on deep-tissue pain sensitivity. Seventeen healthy subjects were included in this randomised crossover study. ⋯ McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) was used to describe the quality of the induced pain. Compared with the control session PPM demonstrated: (1) a reduction of the experimental muscle pain intensity (VAS area and peak) and duration (17-31%, P<0.03), (2) lower MPQ score and a change in quality profile of experimental muscle pain (25%, P<0.01) and (3) an increased PPT (17%, P<0.0005). The present study demonstrated that PPM produced an immediate analgesic effect on deep-tissue pain indicating a possible involvement of neural inhibitory mechanisms.