This study was conducted to demonstrate the therapeutic effect of soft-tissue mobilization (STM) combined with pain neuroscience education (PNE) for patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain with central sensitization. A total of 28 participants were recruited and randomly allocated to either the STM group (SMG) (n = 14) or the STM plus PNE group (BG; blended group) (n = 14). STM was applied twice a week for four weeks, with a total of eight sessions, and PNE was applied within four weeks, for a total of two sessions. The primary outcome was pain intensity, and the secondary outcomes were central sensitization, pressure pain, pain cognition, and disability. Measurements were made at baseline, after the test, and at 2-week and 4-week follow-ups. The BG showed significant improvement in pain intensity (p < 0.001), pressure pain (p < 0.001), disability (p < 0.001), and pain cognition (p < 0.001) compared to the SMG. This study demonstrated that STM plus PNE is more effective for all measured outcomes compared to STM alone. This finding suggests that the combination of PNE and manual therapy has a positive effect on pain, disability index, and psychological factors in the short term.

Objective: A previous study reported that cardiovascular training (CT) decreased interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine with bidirectional effects. However, because of conflicting results of increasing and decreasing IL-6 levels in stroke patients, it is essential to clarify the effects of CT on IL-6 levels in this population. Therefore, this review aimed to investigate the effects of CT on IL-6 levels in stroke patients through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), synthesizing and analyzing the effects qualitatively and quantitatively. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Methods: In this review, conducted in April 2023, electronic databases (Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, Google Scholar) were searched to ascertain the effects of CT on IL-6 levels in stroke patients. For qualitative evaluation, ReVMan, provided by the Cochrane Group, was used, and for quantitative evaluation, a random-effects model and SMD (Standardized Mean Difference) were used. Results: Three RCTs measured IL-6 in 117 patients with stroke. The experimental group to which CT was applied showed no significant change compared to the control group.The result of analysis using the random effect model is SMD＝-0.23; 95% confidence interval, -0.66 to 0.20. Conclusions: CT does not affect IL-6 levels in stroke patients. These results suggest that CT can be applied regardless of its positive or negative effect on IL-6 levels in stroke patients.