Table 1 Study characteristics and the distribution of trials for each intervention providing data within 4 weeks, included patients on active treatment, Q-values from heterogeneity tests, mean methodological scores, mean age of patients and baseline pain on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). (*) One trial with electroacupuncture used too low electrical stimulation intensity according to optimal treatment criteria (Berman et al. 2004), and consequently was classified as manual acupuncture.
Type of intervention | Total number of trials | Total number of patients | Number of trials with optimal treatment | Number of patients receiving optimal treatment | Mean methodological quality [range] (max score 5) | Mean age (years) | Q-values and p-values in hetero-geneity tests | Mean baseline pain on 100 mm VAS † |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TENS including IF | 11 | 425 | 7 | 277 | 3.3 [1–5] | 63.6 | 60.8 (p < 0.001) | 63.8 |
Electro-acupuncture | 3 | 242 | 3 | 242 | 3.6 [3–5] | 62.9 | 1.1 (p = 0.58) | 62.7 |
Manual acupuncture | 4 | 691 | 4 | 691 | 3.9 [3–5] | 66.1 | 4.5 (p = 0.34) | 54.7 |
Low Level Laser therapy | 8 | 343 | 5 | 222 | 3.5 [2–5] | 66.9 | 36.4 (p < 0.001) | 66.7 |
Pulsed electromagnetic fields | 7 | 487 | 7 | 487 | 4.4 [3–5] | 64.2 | 9 (p = 0.18) | 63.3 |
Ultrasound | 1 | 74 | 1 | 74 | 4 | 67.5 | n.a. | 53.0 |
Static magnets | 2 | 172 | 2 | 172 | 4 [4] | 65.6 | 1.9 (p = 0.22) | 59.7 |
Total and means | 36 | 2434 | 24 | 2165 | 3.8 | 65.1 | 62.9† |