Fascial manipulation® for musculoskeletal disorders: a scoping review

Objective: The purpose of this scoping review is to synthesize all available literature on the effects/mechanisms of myofascial manipulation interventions and adverse events, to assess knowledge gaps in understanding optimal approaches, and to elucidate therapeutic mechanisms and select indications.

Introduction: Fascial manipulation® (FM) is one of the techniques that have been developed in recent years as a manual therapy for musculoskeletal disorders. Systematic reviews have shown the efficacy of FM for patients with musculoskeletal pain, but mechanisms and adverse events have not been examined.

Inclusion / Exclusion criteria: This review will include patients with musculoskeletal disorders with pain and dysfunction. Outcomes will be pain and physical function. The study design will be that of an interventional trial or observational study or case report, with no restrictions on region, race, gender, or language of the original paper.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PEDro databases using the keywords “Fascial manipulation®,” “musculoskeletal disorders,” and “myofascial pain” and “musculoskeletal pain” during December 2022. In the first screening step, two independent reviewers will review all the titles and abstracts to exclude irrelevant articles. In the second screening step, two independent reviewers will review all the full texts to exclude irrelevant articles. Outcomes will be focused on pain and physical function. Chapters will be divided for each outcome and the results will be described.