|
| First author (year) | Number of
primary studies | Meta-analysis | Intervention | Comparison | Clinical outcome | Adverse effects | Conclusion |
|
| Liu, 2007 [28] | 3 | Yes | Acupotomy | Acupuncture (3 studies) | *Cure, markedly effective, effective, ineffective | All trials did not mention whether adverse events have occurred | There are some defects in clinical study on the treatment for CR by acupotomy; treatment for CR by acupotomy is safe and efficient treatment for CR, but the bad quality of articles and the deficiency of methodological decline the efficacy and the reliability |
|
| Sun, 2009 [29] | 8 | Yes | Electropuncture
Acupuncture
Abdominal acupuncture
Abdominal acupuncture + CCT
Acupuncture + CCT + massage
Electropuncture + massage + CCT + TDP | CCT (2 studies)
CCT
CCT
CCT
CCT + massage (2 studies)
massage + CCT + TDP | *Cure, markedly effective, effective, ineffective
*MPQ | One trial reported the adverse reaction, including mild pain and bleeding | Acupuncture treatment is effective for CR and is superior to traction in the aspects of effective rate and pain alleviating. The curative effect of traction treatment could be improved when combining with acupuncture. However, the conclusion was uncertain because the quality of enrolled papers was partly low |
|
| Guo, 2012 [30] | 9 | Yes | Long’s manipulation
Manipulation
Rotation manipulation
Manipulation
Manipulation
Massage
Massage
Manipulation | CCT + instruments
CCT + IFTA
CCT
CCT (2 studies)
Buluofen tablets
CCT
CCT + Buluofen
CCT + acupuncture | *Cure, markedly effective, effective, ineffective | One trial reported
the mild adverse reaction | Manipulation or massage treatment on CR is safe, effective and both cure rate and the effective rate are much better than other therapies; but due to the limited number of documents included and the quality being not very high, the conclusion is still uncertain |
|
| Hu, 2012 [31] | 14 | Yes | Acupuncture
Electropuncture
Acupuncture + CCT
Electropuncture + CCT | CCT (3 studies)
CCT (3 studies)
CCT (4 studies)
CCT (4 studies) | *Cure, markedly effective, effective, ineffective | Two trials reported the safety, but no adverse reactions were observed | Acupuncture was safe in the treatment of CR. Acupuncture showed better clinical effect than traction therapy. In addition, acupuncture had better analgesic effect and could reduce recurrence. Therefore, acupuncture is probably superior to traction therapy in the treatment of CR, which is not definite due to relatively low level of evidence |
|
| Wang, 2013 [32] | 28 | Yes | Massage
Massage + CCT
Massage
Massage + CCT
Manipulation
Manipulation
Massage
Massage
Manipulation
Massage + TCM capsule
Massage + TCM Decoction
Manipulation + VCDI
Massage
Manipulation + acupuncture
Manipulation + CCT + TCMI
Manipulation + CCT + EH
Manipulation + CCT + IFTA | CCT (7 studies)
CCT (5 studies)
CCT + acupuncture
Acupuncture + CCT
CCT + TCM Pills
CCT + Buluofen
Lornoxicam tablets
TCM capsule
TCM plaster
TCM capsule
TCM decoction
VCDI
Acupuncture
Acupuncture (2 studies)
CCT + TCMI
CCT + EH
CCT + IFTA | *Cure, markedly effective, effective, ineffective
*MPQ | Three studies reported the adverse reactions. Only one study described that skin allergy reaction occurred in seven patients after the plaster therapy | Single-application of manipulation or massage was superior to traction group and medicine group in effective rate, while no significant differences were noted between the manipulation or massage group and other control groups. In the trials of comparison between union-application of manipulation or massage and other treatments, only manipulation plus acupuncture versus acupuncture group was not significantly different. However, the conclusion is uncertain because the quality of enrolled papers is partly low |
|
| Zhang, 2013 [33] | 3 | Yes | Jingfukang granule
Jingfukang granule
Jingfukang granule | CCT + Buluofen
Meloxicam tablets
TCM granule | *Cure, markedly effective, effective, ineffective | No significant adverse effects or allergic reactions were reported | Jingfukang granule was superior to the other therapies. To compare Jingfukang granules with western medicine, there was no significant advantage. So Jingfukang granule was effective in the treatment of CR. However, the evidence is insufficient to determine the effect of Jingfukang granules |
|
| Yang, 2013 [34] | 30 | Yes | Manipulation
Massage + acupressure
Massage
Mobilization
Manipulation + acupressure
Manipulation + massage | CCT (18 studies)
CCT
CCT (5 studies)
CCT (3 studies)
CCT
CCT (2 studies) | *Cure, markedly effective, effective, ineffective
*VAS
*TCSSG | Fourteen trials mentioned whether adverse events have occurred. Only one trial showed that ten patients presented red mark left on the cervical skin and the pain getting worse after massage | Manipulation or massage has advantages in treating CR with respect to short-term therapy, pain relief and the signs/symptoms amelioration compared with cervical traction. Manipulation or massage is of higher security. Nevertheless, the wide variety of therapeutic manipulation or massage techniques, diagnosis, and treatment standards is inconsistent |
|
| Zhu, 2015 [35] | 3 | Yes | Cervical spine manipulation | CCT (3 studies) | *VAS | One out of three trials reported the adverse events and none with a small sample size | There was moderate level evidence to support the immediate effect of cervical manipulation in treating CR. However, the safety of cervical manipulation cannot be taken as an exact conclusion |
|
