2.3. Eligibility Criteria

The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) randomised controlled clinical trials on humans; (2) patients with CR, identified and diagnosed by clinical criteria (arm, neck, scapular or periscapular pain and paresthesias, numbness and sensory changes, weakness, or abnormal deep tendon reflexes in the arm) [7] or by using references tests (shoulder abduction, Spurling's test) [7], electromyography or electroneurography, and the clinical criteria for radiculopathy diagnosis which had to be explained completely; (3) assessment of the effectiveness of manual therapy in CR, with no distinction between manipulations, mobilisations, and soft tissue treatment or combined with other techniques; (4) pain, disability, or Short Form-36 Health Survey (recommended by the North American Spinal Association in their CR guidelines [7]; (5) studies published in English, French, and Spanish; and (6) studies published in the past 10 years.

We excluded articles that (1) used another approach, except if they used a comparison to the manual therapy technique or were accompanied by it, and (2) with patients with neck and arm symptoms without a CR diagnosis.