Neck and nerve mobilization may ease nerve-related neck and arm pain
A trial review favored specific physical therapy techniques for pain relief, but the certainty of the evidence was low to very low.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review reported less pain with cervical lateral glide and median nerve mobilization than with no treatment. Cervical lateral glide also showed a pain advantage over other physical therapy techniques. However, low to very low certainty and substantial differences between studies mean the size and reliability of these benefits remain uncertain for this patient group.
The abstract does not identify the pain-scale units or assessment timing, so its raw mean differences are difficult to interpret clinically. The authors also report low to very low evidence certainty and considerable variation between studies.
Different comparisons matter
The pain findings came from separate comparisons against no treatment or another physical therapy. Those comparisons should remain distinct: the abstract does not report a direct comparison showing whether neck glide or median nerve mobilization works better.
Disability was also assessed
The review also reported changes in disability. These results were summarized as a range of standardized effects across analyses, without detailed comparison groups or assessment times, leaving the practical meaning of the reported disability changes unclear.
The original publication
Effect of median nerve neural mobilisation and cervical lateral glide on pain, disability and function in patients with nerve-related neck and arm pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Gillot T, Lefebvre D, Michalak A et al.
Clin Rehabil · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40968604
- Record checked
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