Effect of myofascial techniques applied to the cranial region on autonomic Nervous System analyzed by Heart Rate Variability.

Introduction: To study the effect of myofascial techniques applied to the cranial regionon the behavior of autonomic nervous system (ANS), using the analyses of heart ratevariability. Method: This is a clinical trial study accomplished with 66 healthy subjects(33 male and 33 female). Myofascial techniques applied to the cranial area usingcraniosacral therapy were executed on the individuals. The Nerve-Express system, afully automated system, was used before and after the application of the techniques toquantitatively assess the autonomic function based on heart rate variability analysis. Toverify the existence of differences among the dependent variables the Wilcoxon SignedRanks Test was used and o Mann-Whitney Test was applied in order to compare theindependent variable. Results: It was observed a statistically significant increase, inthe values of parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), after the application of thetechnique. The quantitative values of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) decreased ordid not modify in female group. This profile in female group was statistically significantalthough in the male group the miofascial mobilization did not modify the values ofSNS. The quantitative values of SNS and PSNS behaved equal relatively in both studiedgroups, not being significant statistically the difference between the male and femalegroups. Conclusion: These results suggest that the myofascial technical applied to thecranial area by craniossacral therapy is able to promote alterations in the behavior ofANS, generally, increasing PSNS and decreasing SNS.