Table 3.
Summary of assessment of risk of bias for accepted randomized controlled trials based on Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) criteria [35]
| Author, Year | Research Question | Random-ization | Conceal-ment | Blinding | Similarity at baseline | Similarity between arms | Outcome measure-ment | Percent drop-outa | Intention to treat | Results comparable between sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergman et al., 2004 [40] | Y | CS | Y | Y | Nb | Y | Y | 12 weeks (immediately post-intervention) | Y | CS |
| UC = 14 % | ||||||||||
| MT + UC = 13 % | ||||||||||
| 26 weeks: | ||||||||||
| UC = 11 % | ||||||||||
| UC + MT = 9 % | ||||||||||
| 52 weeks: | ||||||||||
| UC = 13 % | ||||||||||
| MT + UC = 6 % | ||||||||||
| Cook et al., 2014 [41] | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | CS | Y | Post-intervention: | N | CS |
| Manipulation: 2/38 = 5 % | ||||||||||
| Control: 4/36 = 11 % | ||||||||||
| Cleland et al., 2013 [42] | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | 1 month: | Y | CS |
| MTEX: 3/37 = 8 % | ||||||||||
| HEP: 2/37 = 5 % |
Acronyms: Y Yes, N No, CS Can’t Say, NA Not Applicable, MT Manual therapy, UC Usual Care, MTEX manual therapy and home exercise, HEP Home exercise program
aPercent drop-out includes drop-outs and loss to follow-up
bBaseline differences were adjusted in the analysis