A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine in Sport and Companion Animals: Soft Tissue Mobilization.
Abstract: Soft tissue mobilization is frequently used in the treatment of sport and companion animals. There is, however, uncertainty regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of these methods. Therefore, the aim of this systematic literature review was to assess the evidence for clinical effects of massage and stretching in cats, dogs, and horses. A bibliographic search, restricted to studies in cats, dogs, and horses, was performed on Web of Science Core Collection, CABI, and PubMed. Relevant articles were assessed for scientific quality, and information was extracted on study characteristics, species, type of treatment, indication, and treatment effects. Of 1189 unique publications screened, 11 were eligible for inclusion. The risk of bias was assessed as high in eight of the studies and moderate in three of the studies, two of the latter indicating a decreased heart rate after massage. There was considerable heterogeneity in reported treatment effects. Therefore, the scientific evidence is not strong enough to define the clinical efficacy and effectiveness of massage and stretching in sport and companion animals.
Publication Date: 2022-06-02 PubMed ID: 35681903PubMed Central: PMC9179335DOI: 10.3390/ani12111440Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Review
Summary
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This research is a systematic literature review that investigates the use of soft tissue mobilization methods, such as massage and stretching, in the treatment of sport and companion animals. The research found that the scientific evidence supporting these methods is inconclusive due to varying study results, bias risks and other inconsistencies in the data.
Methodology
- Conducting a comprehensive search on three bibliographic databases: the Web of Science Core Collection, CABI, and PubMed, this study strictly used studies performed on cats, dogs, and horses. These sources were screened for relevant content.
- The review team scrutinized a total of 1189 unique publications but only 11 met the inclusion criteria set by the researchers.
- These studies were then evaluated for scientific quality, their particulars, species studied, type of treatment administered, indication, and impact of treatment.
Findings
- The research was tasked with evaluating the validity of the studies and assessed a high risk of bias in eight of the 11 studies selected. In three studies, the risk of bias was classified as moderate.
- The results of these studies provided a very diverse range of findings, therefore creating significant heterogeneity. For instance, two of the lesser biased studies showed a noted decrease in heart rate following a massage.
Conclusion
- Due to the considerable differences in treatment findings and the risks of bias within the studies, the systematic literature review concluded that the scientific evidence is insufficient to conclusively define the clinical efficacy and effectiveness of massage and stretching in sport and companion animals.
This research stages an important step in understanding the role of soft tissue mobilization methods in veterinary medicine. However, it also highlights the need for further, more rigorous research in this field to establish more reliable conclusions.
Cite This Article
APA
Bergh A, Asplund K, Lund I, Boström A, Hyytiäinen H.
(2022).
A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine in Sport and Companion Animals: Soft Tissue Mobilization.
Animals (Basel), 12(11).
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12111440 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
- Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, SE 901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacolgy, Karolinska Institutet, SE 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 57, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
- Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 57, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Grant Funding
- SLU.ua.2020.4.2-3148 / Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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