Alignment between the research question, design, and terminology is required in manual therapy trials: a methodological study

Abstract

Objectives: The study aimed to assess the design, reporting, and risk of bias in effectiveness trials (ETs) in manual therapy (MT), comparing pragmatic with nonpragmatic trials and trials with and without placebo controls. Study Design and Setting: We searched MEDLINE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomized controlled trials with the term “effectiveness” in the title or abstract in the field of MT from inception to January 2024. Two independent reviewers extracted data on specific study characteristics, their reporting, and risk of bias and assessed them using the PRagmatic Explanatory Continuum Indicatory Summary-2 tool (PRECIS-2). Descriptive analysis using frequencies and percentages and a relation analysis between PRECIS-2 scores and specific study characteristics were performed. […]