http://www.jbjs.org/article.aspx?articleid=327865
And
http://www.jbjs.org/article.aspx?articleid=327866
The second one explains very well why the bracing literature is an unsalvageable train wreck but also that nobody has shown bracing can't work under the right circumstances.
I also see a problem with identifying cases of equipoise. For bracing, there should be a very loud, clear case of it across the board based on the literature. Yet we hear some loose comments from surgeons that bracing is more proven than it is. These comments, by definition, can only have come from personal experience which is known to be fatally flawed. If it wasn't then we would never need high-quality controlled studies. Surgeons need to stop undermining their own profession in this way. Evidence is the gold standard for this or anything real. Faith and hope are not relevant.
And
http://www.jbjs.org/article.aspx?articleid=327866
The second one explains very well why the bracing literature is an unsalvageable train wreck but also that nobody has shown bracing can't work under the right circumstances.
I also see a problem with identifying cases of equipoise. For bracing, there should be a very loud, clear case of it across the board based on the literature. Yet we hear some loose comments from surgeons that bracing is more proven than it is. These comments, by definition, can only have come from personal experience which is known to be fatally flawed. If it wasn't then we would never need high-quality controlled studies. Surgeons need to stop undermining their own profession in this way. Evidence is the gold standard for this or anything real. Faith and hope are not relevant.
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