Effects of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorders: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Thoracic facet joint disorder is a common thoracic disorder in clinic, inducing pain and discomfort at the dislocated thoracic vertebrae, radiating to pain of the neck and back. The incidence of thoracic facet joint disorder is higher than the facet disorder of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae. Therefore, an ideal strategy to relieve thoracic facet joint disorder is urgently needed. In recent years, massage therapy has been increasingly accepted by thoracic facet joint disorder patients due to its lower costs, fewer unwanted side effects and safety for clinical use. In this systematic review, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorder. We will search the following electronic databases for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of massage therapy in treating thoracic facet joint disorder: Wanfang and PubMed Database, CNKI, CENTRAL, CINAHL and EMBASE. Each database will be searched from inception to October 2020. The entire process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment and meta-analyses. This proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorder. This proposed systematic review will evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with thoracic facet joint disorder. The results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/XMEJD.