Table 1.
Database search strategy performed August 1, 2012
| Number | Search terms | MEDLINE results | CINAHL results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Database search strategy | |||
| 1 | Musculoskeletal manipulations [MESH; major topic] | 7032 | 7 |
| 2 | “Manual therapy” | 1740 | 2586 |
| 3 | “Massage” | 10,457 | 7432 |
| 4 | “Alternative therapies” | 2833 | 18,775 |
| 5 | “Myofascial release” | 76 | 227 |
| 6 | “Myofascial therapy” | 20 | 24 |
| 7 | “Trigger point therapy” | 45 | 143 |
| 8 | 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 | 18,803 | 27,581 |
| 9 | “Pain” [MESH; major topic] | 174,141 | 52,073 |
| 10 | “Pain measurement” [MESH; major topic] | 7773 | 3444 |
| 11 | “Quantitative sensory testing” | 728 | 189 |
| 12 | “Thermal pain” | 596 | 91 |
| 13 | “Electrical pain” | 144 | 34 |
| 14 | “Pressure pain” | 1033 | 420 |
| 15 | “Mechanical pain” | 417 | 81 |
| 16 | “Pain threshold” | 10,014 | 1553 |
| 17 | “Muscle pain” | 2153 | 1293 |
| 18 | “Experimental pain” | 1059 | 203 |
| 19 | “Trigger point” | 546 | 766 |
| 20 | 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12 or 13 or 14 or 15 or 16 or 17 or 18 or 19 | 183,382 | 53,510 |
| 15 | 8 AND 20 | 2087 | 2635 |
| Search limits | |||
| MEDLINE limits: “abstracts”, “humans”, “clinical trial”, “randomized controlled trial”, and “English” | 582 | ||
| CINAHL limits: “abstract available”, “English language”, “peer reviewed”, “research article”, “human”, and “all adult” after removing duplicates | 502 | ||
Abbreviation: CINAHL, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature.