An analysis of the quality of evidence to support the clinical use of earthing, and the relative efficacy of two commonly used assessment tools within a structured literature review process.
Item
- Title
- An analysis of the quality of evidence to support the clinical use of earthing, and the relative efficacy of two commonly used assessment tools within a structured literature review process.
- Author(s)
- Gilliam, R
- Abstract
- Background: Research in earthing has shown a variety of physiologicaleffects, however the quality of this research remains to be determined. Objective: To appraise earthing literature with two recommended assessment tools; compare and contrast these tools and assess their inter-reviewer variability. Design: This paper followed a structured literature review format. Methods: An automated search on PubMed and Google Scholar was carried out, without filters or exclusion criteria due to the paucity of research in this field. A total of 15 papers were appraised using the Cochrane risk of bias (RoB) and Jaded tools, and 5 sent to a secondary reviewer. Results: Earthing results revealed changes in 3 main categories: body voltage, sleep and pain and blood chemistry, inflammatory markers and circulation. Appraisal with the Jaded and RoB tools revealed an overall poor quality and unclear risk of bias. Results between tools varied greatly with a 20.44% average difference (17.33o[o for the secondary reviewer). Inter-rater variability showed a 20% (Jadad) and 16.67% (RoB) average difference.Discussion: In addition to an overall poor methodological quality, further bias within earthing literature was discovered in the form of confounding variables, theoretical assumptions and conflicts of interest. Use of the RoB and Jadad tools show limitations both in this review and in a wider context. A more reliable way of appraising evidence would be to assess relevant methodological aspects individually. Conclusion: The validity of evidence to support earthing is questionable. ROB and Jadad tools, require more thorough understanding in order to be truly effective.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2015
- Date Submitted
- 2.12.2016 16:54:59
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15893
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Earthing, Grounding, Jadad scale, RoB tool
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Gilliam, R, “An analysis of the quality of evidence to support the clinical use of earthing, and the relative efficacy of two commonly used assessment tools within a structured literature review process.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed April 22, 2025, https://library.wso.at/s/orw/item/588