Makuloluwe 1977.

Methods	Randomised clinical trial (no details of method). No blinding of patients, care providers and outcome assessment.
Participants	Enfield, UK. 80 patients with ankle sprains. Inclusion criteria: mild or moderate ankle sprains, pain on abduction or adduction of the foot. Exclusion criteria (X‐ray): ankle fractures.
Interventions	Group 1: Ultrasound therapy: 1.5 W/cm², 4 minutes, 4 to 10 sessions (n = 40). Length of treatment variable, depending on recovery. Group 2: Immobilisation by Elastoplast (n = 40). Co‐interventions: ice packs for some patients in the ultrasound group.
Outcomes	Length of follow‐up: 2 weeks Success rate / recovery (yes/no) Dropouts: none reported but values of percentages indicate incomplete outcome ascertainment. Adverse reactions: not described
Notes	Authors' conclusion: ultrasound is more effective than immobilisation with Elastoplast.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not described in trial report
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not described in trial report
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Values of percentages (success) indicate incomplete outcome ascertainment
Baseline similarity	Unclear risk	No baseline characteristics per intervention group
Blinding of care provider	High risk	Pragmatic comparison of two different types of treatment
Control for co‐interventions	Unclear risk	No information in trial report
Adherence to treatment	Unclear risk	No information in trial report
Blinding of patients	High risk	Pragmatic comparison of two different types of treatment
Blinding of outcome assessment	High risk	Assessment by patient and physician
Timing of outcome assessment	Low risk	Similar timing