Rodríguez Fuentes, IvánDe-Toro, JavierRodríguez Fuentes, GustavoOliveira, Iris Machado deMeijide-Faílde, RosaFuentes Boquete, Isaac Manuel2020-10-052020-09-12Rodríguez-Fuentes I, De Toro FJ, Rodríguez-Fuentes G, de Oliveira IM, Meijide-Faílde R, Fuentes-Boquete IM. Is myofascial release therapy cost-effective when compared with manual therapy to treat workers’ mechanical neck pains? J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2020 Sep;43(7):683-690.0161-47541532-6586http://hdl.handle.net/2183/26334[Abstract] Objective: The aim of this study was to do a cost-benefit analysis of myofascial release therapy (MRT) compared to manual therapy (MT) for treating occupational mechanical neck pain. Methods: Variables regarding the outcomes of the intervention were intensity of neck pain, cervical disability, quality of life, craniovertebral angle, and ranges of cervical motion. Costs were assessed based on a social perspective using diary costs. Between-groups differences in average cost, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility ratios were assessed using bootstrap parametric techniques. The economic cost-benefit evaluation was with regard to an experimental parallel group study design. There were 59 participants. Results: Myofascial released therapy showed significant improvement over MT for cervical mobility (side bending, rotation, and craniovertebral angle). The total cost of MRT was approximately 20% less ( $519.81; 95% confidence interval, $1193.67 to $100.31) than that of MT, although this was not statistically significant. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility ratios showed that MRT could be associated with lower economic costs. Conclusion: With probabilities of 93.9% and 95.8%, MRT seems to be cost-effective for treating mechanical neck pain without the need to add any additional cost to obtain a better clinical benefit. Consequently, we believe it could be included in the clinical practice guidelines of different Spanish health care institutions.engCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0)http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Cost-benefit analysisNeck painMusculoskeletal manipulationsjournal articleopen access