Table 1.
Literature search in the Medline database
| #27 | Search #18 AND #26 | 257$ |
| #26 | Search #19 OR #20 OR #21 OR #22 OR #23 OR #24 OR #25 | 989004 |
| #25 | Search outcome [TIAB] | 245359 |
| #24 | Search score [TIAB] | 94893 |
| #23 | Search self-assessment [TIAB] | 2896 |
| #22 | Search self-report [TIAB] | 11048 |
| #21 | Search measure* [TIAB] | 158645 |
| #20 | Search questionnaire [TIAB] | 95367 |
| #19 | Search "Questionnaires"[MeSH] OR "Weights and Measures"[MeSH] OR "Outcome Assessment"(Health Care)"[MeSH] OR "Treatment Outcome"[MeSH] | 466731 |
| #18 | Search #4 AND #10 AND #17 | 895 |
| #17 | Search #11 OR #12 OR #13 OR #14 OR #15 OR #16 | 1429234 |
| #16 | Search multiple [TIAB] | 357243 |
| #15 | Search repetitive [TIAB] | 27785 |
| #14 | Search functional* [TIAB] | 425161 |
| #13 | Search recurren* [TIAB] | 194753 |
| #12 | Search chronic* [TIAB] | 473604 |
| #11 | Search "Recurrence"[MeSH] | 100803 |
| #10 | Search #5 OR #6 OR #7 OR #8 OR #9 | 83178 |
| #9 | Search inversion [TIAB] | 13941 |
| #8 | Search instability [TIAB] | 34623 |
| #7 | Search sprain* [TIAB] | 2071 |
| #6 | Search unstable [TIAB] | 31862 |
| #5 | Search "Sprains and Strains"[MeSH:NoExp] OR "Joint Instability"[MeSH] | 9501 |
| #4 | Search #1 OR #2 OR #3 | 19963 |
| #3 | Search ankle* [TIAB] | 17290 |
| #2 | Search "Lateral Ligament, Ankle"[MeSH] | 136 |
| #1 | Search "Ankle Joint"[MeSH] | 5761 |
* = abbreviation, Mesh = Medical Subject Heading; [TIAB] = key word in title or abstract; $ = final number of hits.