Study	Reason for exclusion
Bowles 2002	Compares two combined interventions in which the massage component is identical
Giasson 1999	Allocation procedure not specified, except for an indication that it was random, but there is no explanation for a large difference in group sizes (n = 16 therapeutic touch and n = 11 "simple presence" control) and no account for compliance and dropouts.
Scherder 1995	Allocation is quasi‐random and not concealed; many outcome measures are reported without an a priori establishment of a primary outcome measure
Scherder 1995a	As Scherder 1995
Scherder 1998	As Scherder 1995
Smallwood 2001	An unmotivated splitting of results according to 'time of day' results in an apparent positive treatment effect in part of the material; one dropout is reported but it is not stated how this was treated in the data analysis; no details given of the type of massage or duration of treatment