Whitefield 2002.

Methods	R, DB (double dummy), AC, parallel groups Gel applied to affected site, with gentle massage, and 1 tablet taken 3 times daily for at least 7 days Assessed at baseline, 7, 14 (if necessary) days in clinic, and daily patient diary
Participants	Soft tissue injuries (< 24 hours) N = 100 M 95, F 5 Mean age 26 years (range 18 to 50) Mean baseline pain on movement 2.2 cm
Interventions	Ibuprofen gel 5% + placebo tablet 3 x daily, n = 50 Ibuprofen 400 mg tablet + placebo gel 3 x daily, n = 50 No other medication or physical therapy was prescribed and no other analgesics were allowed
Outcomes	PGE: 3‐point scale (responder = "excellent") Change in condition of injury site: 5‐point scale (responder = "completely better") Adverse events Withdrawals
Notes	Oxford Quality Score: R1, DB2, W1. Total = 4/5
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not reported
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not reported
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Placebo tablets Identical in appearance to active tablets. Active and placebo gels had similar physical characteristics and were supplied in identical tubes
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	All participants included in analysis
Size	Unclear risk	50 participants per treatment arm