Szcurko 2009.

Methods	RCT; randomised using age‐ and sex‐matched central computer randomisation
Participants	Postal workers with rotator cuff tendinitis; n = 89
Interventions	PE: standardised physical exercises: range‐of‐motion exercises + placebo tablets; n = 42 NC: Naturopathic care: dietary counselling, acupuncture and Plogenzym; n = 43   12 weeks, one weekly session of 30 minutes
Outcomes	Pain (VAS), function (SPADI), quality of life (SF‐36)
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	"Participants were randomized using age and sex matched computer randomization"
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	"Allocation concealment using central randomization was preserved up to the point of treatment"
Blinding of participants?	High risk	Participant was not blinded
Blinding of caregivers?	Unclear risk	Unclear blinding
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	High risk	"Primary outcome is measured by patient and participant blinding is 'no'"
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes ‐ <20% drop‐outs?	Low risk	Of 85 participants, 17 did not complete treatment (= 20%)
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes ‐ ITT analysis performed?	Low risk	Missing data at week 12 were replaced by values at week 8 for ITT analysis
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	No protocol
Similarity of baseline characteristics?	High risk	No adequate baseline comparability: see Table 1
Co‐interventions avoided?	High risk	Co‐interventions not similar between groups
Compliance acceptable ?	Low risk	Compliance for pills > 80%. Same number and duration of sessions for other groups
Timing outcome assessment comparable?	Low risk	Timing was comparable