Summary of the effect size versus placebo, quality scores, and number of studies identified
| Intervention | Number of studies | Positive to placebo | Quality score (range) | Quality score (median) | Effect size versus placebo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acetaminophen/paracetamol | 5 | 1/1 | 17–26 | 20 | |
| Opioid analgesic/other | 6 | 2/3 | 11–24 | 19 | |
| NSAID | |||||
| Conventional NSAID | 130 | 27/31 | 5–27 | 17 | 0.47, 0.50, 0.76, 0.96, |
| Coxibs | 5 | 4/4 | 18–25 | 23 | 0.50 |
| Antidepressant | 1 | 1/0 | 16 | – | |
| Topical NSAID | 9 | 5/7 | 18–26 | 22 | −0.05, 0.16, 0.31, 0.91, 1.03 |
| Topical capsaicin | 2 | 2/2 | 21, 26 | 0.41, 0.56 | |
| Sex hormones | 2 | 0/1 | 15, 20 | ||
| SYSADOA | |||||
| Glucosamine | 8 | 4/6 | 14–27 | 24 | 0.43, 0.53, 1.02 |
| Chondroitin | 5 | 5/5 | 20–27 | 24 | 1.23, 1.37, 1.44, 1.50 |
| Diacerein | 1 | 1/1 | 22 | 22 | |
| ASU | 3 | 3/3 | 21–24 | 23 | 0.32, 1.72 |
| Nutrients | 2 | 2/2 | 4,25 | – | 0.65 |
| Herbal remedies | 5 | 3/3 | 14–27 | 20 | 0.23, 1.32 |
| Minerals/vitamins | 1 | 0/1 | 24 | 24 | |
| Education | 7 | 3/3 | 11–15 | 13 | 0.28, 0.35 |
| Exercise | 40 | 8/9 | 5–26 | 15 | 0.57, 0.59, 1.0 |
| Telephone | 3 | 1/1 | 16–18 | 18 | 1.09 |
| Acupuncture | 6 | 2/2 | 11–22 | 16 | 0.25, 1.74 |
| Laser | 2 | 1/1 | 12,17 | 0.87 | |
| Pulsed EMF | 2 | 2/2 | 18,19 | ||
| Spa | 5 | 3/3 | 12–17 | 15 | 1.0 |
| TENS | 7 | 6/6 | 12–22 | 17 | 0.76 |
| Ultrasound | 1 | 0/1 | 20 | ||
| Weight loss | 2 | 1/1 | 11,15 | ||
| Insoles | 5 | 0/1 | 3–15 | 11 | |
| Orthotic device (knee brace/patella tape/elastic bandage | 9 | 3/3 | 7–20 | 15 | |
| IA Hyaluronic acid | 35 | 18/20 | 9–26 | 20 | 0.0, 0.04, 0.48, 0.49, 0.88, 0.9 |
| IA Corticosteroid | 9 | 6/7 | 4–22 | 16 | 1.27 |
| Lavage/tidal irrigation | 7 | 1/1 | 11–25 | 18 | 0.84 |
| Arthroscopy | 14 | – | 6–17 | 10 | |
| Osteotomy | 26 | – | 5–15 | 11 | |
| Unicompartmental knee replacement | 15 | – | 4–16 | 11 | |
| Total knee replacement | 35 | – | 4–23 | 13 | |