Reporting Quality of Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials on Knee and Ankle Injury Prevention Programs in...

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Evidence Synthesis
• Methodological Research

Background:

• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are vital for evidence synthesis in football injury prevention.
• The utility of these reviews relies on transparent reporting, guided by PRISMA 2020 standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reporting quality of meta-analyses focusing on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for knee and ankle injury prevention in football.
• The assessment utilized the PRISMA 2020 checklist.

Main Methods:

• A methodological review was performed with systematic searches across four databases.
• Included meta-analyses focused solely on RCTs for exercise-based knee or ankle injury prevention in football players.
• Reporting adherence was scored using the PRISMA 2020 checklist (52 items).

Main Results:

• Five meta-analyses met the inclusion criteria, showing moderate overall PRISMA 2020 adherence (70.38%).
• Reporting was strongest in Title, Introduction, and Discussion sections.
• Abstracts, Other Information, and crucial elements like protocol registration, funding, data availability, and certainty of evidence were underreported.

Conclusions:

• Meta-analyses on football injury prevention exhibit moderate adherence to PRISMA 2020, with notable reporting deficiencies.
• Stricter adherence to PRISMA guidelines is necessary to boost transparency, reproducibility, and the practical application of sports medicine evidence.