Can Myofascial Techniques Modify Immunological Parameters

Abstract Objectives: The objective was to determine the effect of myofascial techniques on the modulation of immunological variables. Design: Thirty-nine healthy male volunteers were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Interventions: The experimental group underwent three manual therapy modalities: suboccipital muscle release, so-called fourth intracranial ventricle compression, and deep cervical fascia release. The control group remained in a resting position for the same time period under the same environmental conditions. Outcome measures: Changes in counts of CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, and natural killer (NK) cells (as immunological markers) between baseline and 20 minutes post-intervention. Results: Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant time×groups interaction (F1,35=9.33; p=0.004) for CD19. There were no significant time×group interaction effects on CD3, CD4, CD8, or NK cell counts. Intrasubject analyses showed a higher CD19 count in the experimental group post-intervention ver...