Efficacy of topical versus oral analgesic medication compared to a placebo in injured athletes: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Athletes are injured frequently and often take analgesic medication. Moreover, athletes commonly use non-prescription topical and oral medications with little guidance. Despite wide use, relatively few studies exist on the efficacy of pain medication in injured athletes compared to a placebo. To determine efficacy of topical or oral medications in pain reduction compared to a placebo in injured athletes. A systematic review and meta-analysis. We conducted an electronic search using Medline/Pubmed, Web of Science, Ovid, and SportDiscus for all literature relating to topical or oral medications in athletes for pain management post-injury. Two reviewers screened the studies and measured their quality. To determine efficacy, we calculated the Hedges' g value. We created forest plots with 95% CI to graphically summarize the meta-analyses. There was a significant pooled effect size reflecting a reduction in pain outcomes for the topical treatment versus placebo (g = -0.64; 95% CI [-0.89, -0.39]; p