Research

Research library

Manual therapy research: what the studies say

Hands-on work has a large body of research behind it, and plenty of honest disagreement. This library gathers the papers we lean on most: how the work strains practitioners' hands, what massage does and doesn't do, the trigger point debate, and what soft tissue tools add.

Browse by topic

Hands and work strainHow often do manual therapists hurt their hands, back and neck, and what do they change?12 studies Benefits of massageWhat does massage actually do for soreness, recovery and performance?4 studies Trigger pointsWhat is a trigger point, and why do researchers still argue about it?6 studies IASTM and foam rollingDo scraping tools and rollers add anything, and how?5 studies MechanotransductionHow do cells sense load, and how does force travel from tissue to cell?6 studies

How this library works

None of these studies tested Trigger PRO. They describe the field it is used in, and we keep the two apart.
Every link goes to the original: PubMed, PubMed Central or the journal. Free full text means you can read and download the whole paper there; Abstract only means the journal charges for the full text.
Study types matter. A survey tells you what people report; a randomised trial or a systematic review of trials tells you more about cause and effect.

Five papers to start with

Cornwell et al., 2021: how often manual therapy injures the physical therapist who gives it.
Campo et al., 2008: one year of following 882 physical therapists, and which tasks raised their risk.
Davis et al., 2020: what sports massage does and doesn't do for performance and recovery.
Fernández-de-las-Peñas & Dommerholt, 2018 and Quintner et al., 2015: both sides of the trigger point debate.
Cheatham et al., 2016: the first systematic review of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilisation (IASTM).

The physics is the simple part

Trigger PRO rests on the lever, a principle much older than any study here, rather than on a new theory of tissue. How the force travels from your hands to the two attachments, with the geometry behind the x2 figure, is explained on how Trigger PRO works.

Research we support

We would rather be tested than believed. Bilathera offers instruments and a bench method to independent researchers who study pressure and practitioner strain, and the results get published whatever they show.

Studies with clinicians are under way. We will list them here, with authors and journal or congress, once they are accepted for publication.

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