Scoping review of systematic reviews of complementary medicine for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions

PMC full text:

BMJ Open. 2018; 8(10): e020222.

Published online 2018 Oct 15. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020222

Table 5

Evidence for neck pain

Comparator	Quality	Population size	Complementary medicine	Safety	Cost-effectiveness
Active intervention	Good	Medium	Manual therapy⁸⁷*	Some evidence of potential harm^{82 83}†	Some evidence of CE^{87 88}‡
	Moderate	Large	Manipulation⁸²§¶	Some evidence of potential harm^{82 83}†	Some evidence of CE^{87 88}‡
	Moderate	Small	Manual therapy⁸⁸**	Some evidence of potential harm^{82 83}†	Some evidence of CE^{87 88}‡
Placebo	Moderate	Medium	Acupuncture⁸⁹	Some evidence of safety⁸⁹	No data⁴⁰
Usual care	Moderate	Medium	Acupuncture⁸⁹	Some evidence of safety⁸⁹	No data⁴⁰

*Manual therapy plus exercise compared with exercise alone.

†Reduced cost of therapy.

‡Minor adverse events and rare but devastating adverse effects from manipulation.

§Compared to medication.

¶Also showed effectiveness for pain compared with any control.

**Mobilisation, manipulation and soft tissue techniques.

CE, cost effectiveness.