Key result
Primal Reflex Release Technique linked to ~43% lower pain scores and altered HRV in one patient.
Why the study?
The effect of Primal Reflex Release Technique on heart rate variability in chronic neck pain had not been previously evaluated.
Does a single session of Primal Reflex Release Technique affect Heart Rate Variability and pain scores in a patient with chronic neck pain?
Case Report (n=1)
No
Does a single session of Primal Reflex Release Technique affect Heart Rate Variability and pain scores in a patient with chronic neck pain?
A single session of Primal Reflex Release Technique reduced pain scores but paradoxically decreased parasympathetic and increased sympathetic activity on HRV in a patient with chronic neck pain.
Single-session Primal Reflex Release Technique may ease chronic neck pain; hypothesis-generating for paradoxical HRV shifts and needs controlled trials.
Primal reflex release technique (PRRT) is a paradigm shift in the treatment of pain which follows the principle of rebooting the autonomous nervous system (ANS), by down regulating the upgraded sympathetic component of ANS in a variety of pain syndromes. To check the effect of PRRT on chronic neck pain, a case study was done using Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) as outcome measures. After conducting the one minute nociceptive exam for startle reflex, indication of the upgraded Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), a single session of PRRT was carried out on a 24 year old female patient with chronic neck pain having a VAS score of 7 on activity and that of 5 on rest. Pre and post treatment HRV analysis was done using frequency domain and time domain parameters. Post PRRT treatment, an improvement in VAS scale with a score of 4 on activity and that of 3 on rest was seen. HRV showed a decrease in HFnu (26.7 vs 24.5), RMSSD (63.553 vs 59.216), SDNN (28.58 vs 34.82) and PNN50 (48.3 vs 42.5) which refers to decreased parasympathetic activity, and increased LFnu (73.3 vs 75.5) which indicates increased sympathetic activity. This was the first study evaluating the effect of PRRT with HRV. Further research needs to be conducted to validate HRV findings in chronic pain patients undergoing PRRT using a large sample size and interval based assessment of HRV.
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Deshmukh et al. (2021) conducted a case report in Chronic neck pain (n=1). Primal reflex release technique (PRRT) vs. Pre-treatment baseline was evaluated on Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score on activity. A single session of Primal Reflex Release Technique immediately reduced pain scores (VAS on activity from 7 to 4) and altered heart rate variability in a patient with chronic neck pain.
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