Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Physical Therapy for Growth and Obstetrics

Background: Infertility is a disease that affects millions of reproductive-aged couples worldwide with current management options that tend to cause different long-term and short-term health hazards. Manual therapy is widely used as a regular treatment for a variety of diseases and it can be applied to all body areas. Currently different manual therapy approaches are used in treating infertility. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to assess and systematically review the available literature concerning the effect of manual therapy on female infertility. Methods: This systematic review followed the PRISMA statement guidelines. Eligibility criteria; Studies design: Randomized and non-randomized trials, as well as case series; Population: women diagnosed with primary or secondary infertility; Intervention: Any type of manual therapy used to treat infertility which included: The Clear Passage Approach (CPA), Mojzisova method, Mercier therapy, and osteopathy; Comparator: Any physical therapy modality or no treatment; Primary outcome: pregnancy rate. Electronic search was performed for articles published between June 2000 and June 2021 using databases: PubMed (MEDLINE), The Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) in addition to other sources. Risk of bias for included studies was assessed using (PEDro) scale for Randomized controlled trial (RCT), Methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS) tool for non-randomized studies, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) tool for case series studies.Results: Nine studies met inclusion criteria in this systematic review. 7 of them were non randomized trials, 1 RCT, and 1 case series.Three included studies on CPA were of moderate to good quality, the only study on Mojzisova method showed good quality, the only study included on Mercier therapy showed moderate quality, for osteopathy: the three non-randomized studies showed moderate quality and the case series showed good quality

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