Systematic review hacks for the sports and exercise clinician: five essential methodological elements

@article{Ardern2015SystematicRH,
  title={Systematic review hacks for the sports and exercise clinician: five essential methodological elements},
  author={Clare L. Ardern},
  journal={British Journal of Sports Medicine},
  year={2015},
  volume={50},
  pages={447 - 449}
}
  • C. Ardern
  • Published 26 November 2015
  • Medicine
  • British Journal of Sports Medicine
Karen is a keen middle-aged tennis player who presents at your busy practice after her family physician told her she has chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy. Karen is anxious to be back playing at her best for a big regional tournament in 6-weeks time. She has consulted with Dr Google and read about a promising treatment called ‘PRP’ (platelet-rich plasma). She asks you what you know about this treatment and whether you think it could help her get back on court. You recall an abstract you… 
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18 Citations
Background Citations
2
Methods Citations
1

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8 References

Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Chronic Tennis Elbow

No significant differences were found at 12 weeks in patients treated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) compared with an active control group, but at 24 weeks, clinically meaningful improvements were found in patients treating with leukocyte-enriched PRP compared with a control group.

Is eccentric exercise an effective treatment for lateral epicondylitis? A systematic review

The majority of consistent findings support the inclusion of eccentric exercise as part of a multimodal therapy programme for improved outcomes in patients with lateral epicondylitis.

Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis With Platelet-Rich Plasma, Glucocorticoid, or Saline

Neither injection of PRP nor glucocorticoid was superior to saline with regard to pain reduction in LE at the primary end point at 3 months, and neither had a short-term pain-reducing effect at 1 month in contrast to the other therapies.

Strong evidence against platelet-rich plasma injections for chronic lateral epicondylar tendinopathy: a systematic review

Based on the best evidence synthesis, there is strong evidence that PRP injections are not efficacious in the management of chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy.

Study quality on groin injury management remains low: a systematic review on treatment of groin pain in athletes

There is moderate evidence for the efficacy of conservative treatment (active exercises and multimodal treatments) and for surgery in patients with adductor-related groin pain and for efficacy of surgical treatment in sportsman's hernia.

Systematic Reviews in Sports Medicine

Evaluating the methodological and reporting quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the sports medicine literature to determine whether such reviews should be used to guide treatment decisions found PRISMA and AMSTAR scores are high and may be better than those in other disciplines.

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For each characteristic, average bias and increases in between-trial heterogeneity were driven primarily by trials with subjective outcomes, with little evidence of bias in trials with objective and mortality outcomes.