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The Influence of Muscle Flexibility Training on Chronic Pain in Older Adults: An Exploratory Systematic Review

2025-11-05Research article Open access
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dc.contributor.authorMelenas, Rodrigo
dc.contributor.authorAntunes, Raul
dc.contributor.authorMatos, Rui
dc.contributor.authorMonteiro, Diogo
dc.contributor.authorAmaro, Nuno
dc.contributor.authorCouto, Nuno
dc.contributor.authorSusano Jacinto, Miguel Ângelo
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-06T13:29:16Z
dc.date.available2025-11-06T13:29:16Z
dc.date.issued2025-11-05en_US
dc.date.updated2025-11-06T06:05:14Z
dc.description.abstractBackground/Objectives: This exploratory systematic review aims to analyze the influence of isolated muscle flexibility training on the reduction of chronic pain symptoms in older adults aged 65 years or more. Articles were selected from the Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases, using the EndNote software for reference management. The selection process followed the PICOS framework and the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, and the review protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database. Methods: The inclusion criteria comprised randomized controlled trials with participants aged 65 or older, evaluating the effect of flexibility training as a standalone intervention on chronic pain, and published in English or Portuguese. Studies were excluded if they involved multimodal training, did not specify participants’ ages, evaluated only acute or postoperative pain, or were not peer-reviewed articles. Results: From an initial pool of 1390 articles, only three met all criteria and were included in the final analysis. These studies—conducted in China (n = 2) and the United States (n = 1)—showed moderate methodological quality (PEDro score = 7/10). Two trials applied Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) in participants with knee osteoarthritis, while the third compared a flexibility-based program to combined strength and aerobic training in a healthy elderly population. All studies reported significant reductions in chronic pain symptoms following flexibility training interventions. Conclusions: The reviewed evidence suggests that muscle flexibility training, particularly using techniques like PNF, may be a promising therapeutic strategy to mitigate specific chronic pain-related symptoms in older adults, particularly reductions in joint stiffness, movement discomfort, and pain intensity associated with osteoarthritis. However, the limited number of high-quality trials and heterogeneity in protocols and pain assessment tools highlight the need for further research.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was funded by National Funds by FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology under the following project UID/04045: Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences, and Human Development.
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.citationMelenas, R., Antunes, R., Matos, R., Monteiro, D., Amaro, N., Couto, N., & Jacinto, M. (2025). The Influence of Muscle Flexibility Training on Chronic Pain in Older Adults: An Exploratory Systematic Review. Sports, 13(11), 393. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13110393
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/sports13110393en_US
dc.identifier.issn2075-4663en_US
dc.identifier.slugcv-prod-4596481
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14537
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectflexibility exerciseen_US
dc.subjectPNFen_US
dc.subjectolder adultsen_US
dc.subjectpainen_US
dc.titleThe Influence of Muscle Flexibility Training on Chronic Pain in Older Adults: An Exploratory Systematic Revieweng
dc.typeresearch articleen_US
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue11en_US
oaire.citation.startPage393
oaire.citation.titleSportsen_US
oaire.citation.volume13en_US
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameAntunes
person.familyNameMatos
person.familyNameMonteiro
person.familyNameAmaro
person.familyNameCouto
person.familyNameSusano Jacinto
person.givenNameRaul
person.givenNameRui
person.givenNameDiogo
person.givenNameNuno
person.givenNameNuno
person.givenNameMiguel Ângelo
person.identifierF-1202-2015
person.identifier.ciencia-id8B16-73A3-A66E
person.identifier.ciencia-idE91C-D6C7-62A5
person.identifier.ciencia-idED1F-6228-E26F
person.identifier.ciencia-idE319-6A71-D3DB
person.identifier.ciencia-idBA1A-9D35-31B5
person.identifier.ciencia-id0816-8EAF-D4D1
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-5485-9430
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-2034-0585
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-7179-6814
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-8160-8007
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-8529-5546
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-1727-3537
person.identifier.ridA-1933-2015
person.identifier.scopus-author-id57194044687
person.identifier.scopus-author-id55315503400
person.identifier.scopus-author-id56437945500
person.identifier.scopus-author-id55556754500
rcaap.cv.cienciaidED1F-6228-E26F | Diogo Manuel Teixeira Monteiro
rcaap.rightsopenAccessen_US
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