{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T18:03:45Z","timestamp":1773252225332,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"3-4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756166400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":13,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Bridge Back Project, Non-Profit Organization"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and elevated levels of central and peripheral pro-inflammatory biomarkers. Fascial Counterstrain (FCS) is a manual therapy technique purported to reduce inflammation and neuroexcitation by decreasing the concentration of pro-inflammatory mediators in the interstitial tissues. We hypothesized that a short course of FCS treatment that specifically targets the interstitium surrounding the SNS will result in a decrease in the severity of PTSD symptoms.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Twenty-four consenting volunteers with a baseline Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) score \u2265 11 were randomized to either an FCS treatment group (n\u2009=\u200913) or waitlist control group (n\u2009=\u200911) after obtaining informed consent as approved by Solutions IRB. Changes in PTSD symptom severity were assessed after three 1.5-hour FCS treatments in 11 subjects in the treatment group and compared to 11 waitlist controls using a piecewise linear mixed-effects regression model. Changes in self-reported depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, life satisfaction, and subjective measure of overall improvement were also assessed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Three 1.5-hour FCS treatments administered over an average duration of 19.5 days [95% CI (15.2-23.8)] resulted in a significantly greater reduction in PTSD symptom severity in the FCS treatment group compared to the waitlist control group [CAPS-5 scores: 18.7-point decrease, 95% CI (8.7-28.7) vs. 1.3-point decrease, 95% CI (0.7-1.9); main effect for FCS treatment: P\u2009&amp;lt;\u2009.001; FCS group vs. control group comparison: P\u2009=\u2009.0017]. Compared to waitlist controls, the FCS treatment group also had statistically significant decreases in self-reported depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms in addition to increases in self-reported overall improvement and life satisfaction.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This proof-of-concept study is the first to demonstrate that a short course of FCS manual therapy targeting the SNS resulted in a rapid and statistically significant reduction in clinician-rated PTSD symptom severity, as well as patient-reported depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Large, randomized studies in PTSD should compare the effectiveness of FCS manual therapy to evidence-based psychotherapies or pharmacotherapies to evaluate its potential as a rapid, cost-effective, and scalable public health intervention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Clinical Trial Registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>IRB Registration # IORG0007116.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/milmed\/usaf408","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,31]],"date-time":"2025-07-31T11:40:42Z","timestamp":1753962042000},"page":"e513-e521","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Rapid Reduction in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity after Three Fascial Counterstrain Manual Treatments: A Proof-of-Concept Study"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"191","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0848-3951","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Holly","family":"Christy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research, Bridge Back Project NPO , Poulsbo, WA 98370,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Brian","family":"Tuckey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Tuckey and Associates , Frederick, MD 21702,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nirnaya","family":"Miljacic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Mountain-Whisper-Light: Statistics & Data Science , Seattle, WA 98112,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nayak","family":"Polissar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Mountain-Whisper-Light: Statistics & Data Science , Seattle, WA 98112,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Meena","family":"Vythilingam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , Washington, DC 20201,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026031018423888300_usaf408-B1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1565","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19031565","article-title":"A Scoping Review on the Prevalence and Determinants of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Military Personnel and Firefighters: Implications for Public Policy and Practice","volume":"19","author":"Obuobi-Donkor","year":"2022","journal-title":"IJERPH"},{"key":"2026031018423888300_usaf408-B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa040603","article-title":"Combat duty in Iraq and 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