Table 2.
Summary of the overall quality of the body of evidence
| Type of outcome measure (population) | Time frame | (Number of studies) Number of participants | Summary of the quality of the evidence | Reasons for downgrading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain (variety of complaints) |
On all time points |
(7RCTs) 389 |
Low evidence: |
Risk of bias/imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| |
Immediate |
(3RCTs) 117 |
Moderate evidence: |
Incons |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| |
Short-term |
(4RCTs) 272 |
Low evidence: |
Risk of bias/imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| |
Long- term |
(1RCT) 62 |
Low evidence: |
Incons./imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| Pain (musculoskeletal disorders) |
On all time points |
(5RCTs) 208 |
Low evidence: |
Risk of bias/imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| |
Immediate |
(2RCTs) 73 |
Moderate evidence: |
imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| |
Short-term |
(3RCTs) 135 |
Low evidence: |
Risk of bias/imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| |
Long- term |
(1RCT) 62 |
Low evidence: |
Incons./imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than | ||||
| Pain (neck pain) |
Immediate |
(2RCTs) 73 |
Low evidence: |
Incons./imprecision |
| MT does not provide better pain relief than sham | ||||
| Pain (low back pain) |
Short-term |
(2RCTs) 126 |
Low evidence: |
Risk of bias/imprecision |
| MT provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| Pain (primary dysmenorrhea) |
On all time points |
(2RCTs) 181 |
Low evidence: |
incons./imprecision |
| MT does not provide better pain relief than sham | ||||
| Pain (chiropractor) |
On all time points |
(3RCTs) 190 |
Very low evidence: |
Risk of bias/incons./imprecision |
| MT does not provide better pain relief than sham | ||||
| Pain (physical therapist) |
On all time points |
(3RCTs) 137 |
Low evidence: |
Risk of bias/imprecision |
| MT performed by physical therapist provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| Pain (physician) |
On all time points |
(1RCT) 62 |
Low evidence: |
incons./imprecision |
| MT performed by a physician therapist provides better pain relief than sham | ||||
| Disability (muscoloskeletal disorders) |
Short term |
(6RCTs) 355 |
Very low evidence: |
Risk of bias/incons./imprecision |
| MT does not provide better relief of disability than sham | ||||
| Perceived (asthma) recovery (chronic asthma) | Short term | (1RCTs) 31 | Very low evidence: |
Risk of bias/incons./imprecision |
| MT does not provide better perceived (asthma) recovery than sham |
incons. = inconsistency.