A systematic review of the efficacy of neural mobilisation in sport: A tool for the neural tension assessment

• Published in: Journal of bodywork and movement therapies 2024-10, Vol.40, p.1409-1416
• Main Authors: Heredia Macías, Carlos, Paredes Hernández, Víctor, Fernández Seguín, Lourdes María
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Athlete; Athletic Injuries; Humans; Lower Extremity - physiology; Muscle Tonus - physiology; Nerve Compression Syndromes - physiopathology; Nerve Compression Syndromes - therapy; Neural tension; Neurodynamics; Range of Motion, Articular - physiology; Sport
• ISSN: 1360-8592; 1532-9283; 1532-9283
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2023.04.034

Any sport places great physical demands on the lower limbs and lumbar spine. Sport can lead to nerve entrapment syndromes, making nerve tissue a target for therapeutic intervention. A systematic review of clinical trials and cohort studies using neurodynamics as a method of assessment and treatment in sports patients was conducted. Risk of bias was assessed using the PEDro and NOS scales. Ten studies were eventually included in this study. Age ranged from 18 to 33 years. Neural tension is underappreciated in sport as a risk factor for injury. Treatment of nerve tissue included glide/tension type neural mobilisations. Studies ranged from 3 to 8 sets, 5 to 20 repetitions, with a time of 60 s and 1–6 weeks of treatment. Neurodynamics manoeuvres proves to be most beneficial in increasing range of motion and decreasing perceived muscle tension in the athlete population. A significant effect was also observed in the monopodal jump test, the 6-m jump test and the cross-jump test. There is also limited and scarce evidence on the use of neural testing in sports injuries.Further studies on the application and assessment of neural stress in sport are warranted. •Neural treatment is beneficial in the range of movement and perceived muscle tension.•The treatment of neural tissue has no significant effect on sport performance.•Neural tension tests as a way to diagnose sport injuries have limited evidence.