Appendix 2a. Characteristics of excluded spinal manipulative therapy studies.
Author, year / Reason for exclusionArkuszewski 1986 / Only alternate inclusion; no true randomization allocation
Aure 2003 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Beyerman 2006 / Duration unspecified
Brealey 2003 / Protocol for UK BEAM trial
Brennan 1994 / No relevant outcome measure
Brennan 2006 / Acute/subacute LBP
Bronfort 1996 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Bronfort 2004 / Pilot study; specific LBP - sciatica
Browder 2007 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization
Burton 2000 / Evaluation of specific LBP - herniation
Cairns 2006 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization
Calmels 2004 / Article in French
Chatchawan 2005 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization
Chiradejnant 2003 / Cannot discern the effect of manipulation or mobilization; evaluates effect of a “therapist-selected” mobilization technique vs. “randomly-selected” technique.
Cleland 2006a / Protocol for study by Childs JD 2004
Cleland 2006b / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization
Cote 1994 / Assessments < 1 day; no relevant outcome measure
Couto 2007 / Article in Portugese
Coxhead 1981 / Evaluates specific LBP - sciatica
Coyer 1955 / Only alternate inclusion; no true randomization allocation
Critchley 2007 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization (cf. different types of physiotherapy to one another)
Dai 2006 / Article in Chinese; specific LBP - spondylolisthesis
Descarreaux 2004 / Does not evaluate effectiveness of spinal manipulation or mobilization; evaluates the effect of “maintenance care”
Ding 2007 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization; article in Chinese
Eisenberg 2007 / Cannot discern the effect of manipulation or mobilization
Ellestad 1988 / Not all subjects with LBP; no relevant outcome measure
Erhardt 2003 / Evaluates standard physiotherapy
Evans 1978 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Frost 2004 / Evaluates standard physiotherapy
Geisser 2005 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization; principal technique used by the manual therapists was a “muscle energy technique”
Gemmell 1995 / Assessment < 1 day
Ghroubi 2007 / Article in French
Gibson 1985 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Gibson 1993 / Healthy subjects; no relevant outcome measure; follow-up < 1 day
Gilbert 1985 / No manual mobilization or manipulation
Haas 1995 / No relevant outcome measure; follow-up < 1 day
Haas 2004 / Contribution of manipulation could not be evaluated; all received manip.
Hall 2006 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization
Hancock 2005/07 / Acute LBP
Hanrahan 2005 / Assessment up to 24hours post-treatment
Helliwell 1987 / No relevant outcome measure
Hemmila 2002 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Herzog 1991 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Hsieh 2002 / Subacute LBP
Hsieh 2004 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization
Hurley 2004 / Acute LBP
Hurwitz 2002 / Acute/subacute/chronic LBP
Indahl 1995 / No manipulation or mobilization
Khalil 1992 / No manipulation
Kessler 2005 / Manual mobilization effect on thoracic spine
Kirk 2005 / Feasibility study
Koes 1992 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Kokjohn 1992 / No LBP patients; follow-up < 1 day
Kominski 2005 / Economic evaluation of the study by Hurwitz EL
Konstantinou 2007 / Assessment <24 hours; evaluates immediate effects on pain and ROM
Lewis 2005 / Evaluates the effect of one-on-one treatment to group intervention; manual therapy included in both interventions
Lopez 2007 / Article in Spanish
Mackawan 2007 / Only evaluates the immediate effects of joint mobilization
Maiers 2007 / Protocol/study design
Maigne 2006 / Evaluates effect of manipulation on coccydynia
Manca 2004 / Cost-effectiveness evaluation of the UK BEAM trial
Marshall 2008 / Not an RCT of spinal manipulation
Meade 1990/95 / Acute/subacute/chronic LBP
Miller 2005 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization; evaluates effectiveness of McKenzie therapy
Niemisto 2003/2005 / Compares multimodal care, consisting of manipulation, specific exercises and physician consultation versus physician consultation alone
Nwuga 1982 / Only alternate inclusion of subjects; no true randomization allocation
Ongley 1987 / Contribution of manipulation could not be evaluated; only one single treatment with manipulation
Palmieri 2002 / Manipulation under anesthesia.
Petty 1995 / No random allocation
Pfefer 2006 / Abstract in congress proceedings
Pope 1994 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Postacchini 1988 / Acute and chronic LBP; chronic defined as > 2 months
Preyde 2000 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization; evaluates “soft-tissue” manipulation, consisting of soft-tissue techniques.
Rasmussen-Barr 2003 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Ritvanen 2007 / Not chronic LBP consisting of > 3 months of pain; defined by the authors: “LBP present on at least half of the days in a 12-month period in a single episode or in multiple episodes
Sanders 1990 / Follow-up < 1 day
Santilli 2006 / Evaluates specific LBP - sciatica
Schiller 2001 / Evaluates treatment for thoracic spine pain
Seferlis 1998 / Acute LBP
Siehl 1971 / No relevant outcome measure
Skargren 1997/98 / Acute/subacute/chronic LBP
Stig 2001 / Not randomized trial
Timm 1994 / Post-laminectomy
Terrett 1984 / No relevant outcome measure
Triano 1995 / Subacute/chronic LBP
UK BEAM trial / Subacute/chronic LBP
Waagen 1986 / Subacute/chronic LBP
Wand 2004 / Cannot discern the effect of spinal manipulation/mobilization
Weinstein 2006 / Does not evaluate spinal manipulation or mobilization; effect of surgery (discectomy) vs. “usual care”
Whitman 2006 / Secondary analysis of study by Childs JD
Williams 2003 / Evaluates the effect of osteopathy for subacute spinal pain; cannot discern the effect on LBP
Zhou 2006 / Article in Chinese; evaluates prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc
LBP = low-back pain
Appendix 2b. Characteristics of excluded acupuncture studies.
Author, year / Reason for exclusionCai 1996 / sciatica
Ceccherelli 2002 / Mixed population in terms of duration of the LBP: “continuous pain that had lasted for more than 3 months or recurrent pain that had become acute more than 1 month before the study”.
Chu 2004 / Not randomized
Duplan 1983 / Acute sciatica of disc origin.
Eisenberg 2007 / Acute LBP; usual vs. choice of care – results not evaluated separately for the individual therapies
Fox 1976 / Not randomized
Franke 2000 / Acupuncture treatment did not involve needling
Fujinuki 1989 / Lumbar spinal canal stenosis
Galacchi 1981 / Percentage of low-back pain unknown
Gallacchi 1983 / Percentage of low-back pain unknown
Ghia 1976 / Specific causes of low-back pain
Hackett 1988 / Acupuncture treatment did not involve needling
Hollisaz 2006 / Specific LBP - sciatica
Hsieh 2004/06 / acupressure
Ishimaru 1993 / Not randomized
Junnila 1982 / No back pain
Kennedy 2008 / Acute LBP
Kinoshita 1965 / Sciatica
Kinoshita 1971 / Sciatica
Kinoshita 1981 / Sciatica
Koike 1975 / Not randomized
Kuramoto 1977 / Lumbar disc herniation
Laitinen 1976 / Sciatica
Li 1994 / Acupuncture treatment did not involve needling
Megumi 1979 / Not randomized
Ratcliffe 2006 / Mixed population
Ren 1996 / Not randomized
Sawazaki 2008 / Not randomized
Shinohara 2000 / No mention of low-back pain, only musculoskeletal pain
Sodipo 1981 / Not randomized
Suen 2008 / Auriculotherapy; no acupuncture
Sugiyama 1984 / Not randomized
Tsui 2004 / Specific LBP – positive Lasegue’s
Wang 1997 / Not randomized
Wang 2000 / Lumbar disc surgery
Wedenberg 2000 / Pregnancy
Xingsheng 1998 / sciatica
Xu 1996 / Not randomized
Yip 2004/06 / acupressure
Yue 1978 / Back and neck complaints; preliminary report
Zhang 1995/96 / Not randomized
Zhi 1995 / Not randomized
Appendix 2c. Characteristics of excluded herbal medicine studies.
Author, year / Reason for exclusionBlank 1970 / Not an RCT
Chrubasik 2001a / Not an RCT
Chrubasik 2002a / Not an RCT
Chrubasik 2002b / Not an RCT
Deli D 2007 / Prolapse – specific LBP; quasi RCT
Gensthaler 2000 / Not an RCT
Gobel 2001 / Not an RCT
Harden 2000 / Not an RCT
He C 2006 / Specific LBP – HNP; “herbal magnetic corset”
Hemmila 1997 / Not an herbal medicine
Hogeboom 2001 / Not an RCT; not an herbal medicine
Jiang 1986 / Not an herbal medicine
Kunzel 2002 / Not an RCT
Laudahn 2001 / Not an RCT
Marz 2002 / Not an RCT
Osterman 2008 / Not an RCT
Sherman 2001 / Not an RCT; not an herbal medicine
Sherman 2001a / Not an RCT; not an herbal medicine
Takabayashi 1990 / Not LBP
Wimmer 1997 / Not LBP; not an herbal medicine
Xu 1993 / Not an RCT
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