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Can a neck massage help your brain heal after a concussion?

NCT ID NCT05129514

Symptom relief Sponsor: The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early This study
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study looked at whether a special hand massage technique, called manual lymphatic drainage, could help clear fluid from the brain in people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Only 2 people took part, and the study was stopped early. Researchers measured changes in brain drainage and thinking skills over 5 days of daily massage sessions.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)
What this could lead to
If it works, this could point toward a simple, drug-free therapy to help clear fluid from the brain and improve thinking after a head injury.
What could go wrong
This was a tiny feasibility study with only 2 participants and was terminated early, so results are very limited. It is unclear if the therapy truly helps or is safe for wider use.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

2 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

May 2022

Finished

Dec 2023

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Female participants must complete the Female Enrollment Form. Those subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative urine pregnancy within 36 hours of study drug administration and also agree to use one of the medically accepted methods of contraception listed on the form for a period of one month following the study. Female subjects of non-childbearing potential, defined as physiologically incapable of becoming pregnant, must meet the criteria listed on the Female Enrollment form, but are not restricted to the use of contraception following study participation. * Participants must be able to sit upright for periods of 30 minutes. * Participants should have a body mass index between 19 and 30 kg/m2 * Initial post-resuscitation Glasgow Coma Scale score following blunt head trauma of 3 to 12 or coma (not due to sedation) greater than 6 hours. Emergence from Post-traumatic Amnesia as documented by serial administration of the Orientation-Log or Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test * Have an anticipated hospital length of stay of 5 days or more following screening and consent. * Able to provide consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding * Persons who are known to be allergic to iodine * Persons who have extensive soft tissue damage to the neck region, including carotid artery dissection, spinal cord injury, or other conditions, that makes lymphatic drainage techniques undesirable. * Women who are of child bearing potential who do not agree to use medically acceptable contraceptives for one month following the study. * Subjects who are participating in another interventional trial.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Brain Injuries, Traumatic brain injury Neuroinflammatory Diseases neuronitis traumatic brain injury

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Neuroinflammation Trauma, brain

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

    Houston, Texas, 77030, United States

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