Blog
Articles for physiotherapists, written from the published literature. Every claim names the study behind it.
Adding education to exercise for patellofemoral pain: what the trials actually show
Two trials compared exercise alone with exercise plus education, and one trial compared a digital therapeutic combining exercise and cognitive-behavioural therapy with education and exercise instruction. In Zhang et al., patellofemoral joint load was reduced from baseline in both groups; in Ghorbani et al., adding structured education to exercise was associated with lower pain intensity at 2-month follow-up and better perceived recovery.
Does shockwave add anything to Achilles tendinopathy rehab?
Meta-analyses of sham-controlled trials found no significant differences between ESWT and sham for pain or function in chronic Achilles tendinopathy, while a network meta-analysis ranked ESWT second among conservative treatments for pain in Achilles tendinopathy, and its pairwise analysis found a significant benefit over placebo. A trial pairing shockwave with progressive resistance training showed both groups improve, with tendon micromorphological remodelling appearing more pronounced in the combined group.
When Half Your Patients Hit the MCID — and When Most Do
A narrative review finds imaging often shows only modest concordance with pain, disability and function, and argues responder thresholds are needed to tell statistical change from clinically meaningful change.
What telerehabilitation trials in Parkinson's disease actually show
Meta-analysis found quality of life, motor symptoms and daily living improved with telehealth versus control, with telephone-based delivery outperforming digital approaches. In one nonrandomised pilot study, telerehabilitation showed no statistically significant difference from hospital-based rehabilitation on balance and mobility, though the balance improvements fell short of the minimal clinically important difference.
Exercise is the constant in rotator cuff pain — what you add on top varies
In one systematic review of exercise-based interventions for rotator cuff-related shoulder pain, significant improvements were reported in pain, function and range of motion, while strength gains were smaller and did not reach statistical significance, with high heterogeneity across studies. One pilot RCT testing physiotherapy alone or plus adjuncts such as PRP or subacromial steroid injections reported clinical improvement in all groups, including PT alone, so the added value of each adjunct remains an open question.
How Hard Can You Push Exercise in Knee OA? The Evidence Is Less Settled Than the Guidelines Imply
A dose-response meta-analysis of 20 RCTs (n = 791) estimated the greatest pain reductions at around 6,000 repetitions of isotonic resistance exercise and peak functional improvements at around 2,600 repetitions of moderate intensity, with low to very low certainty of evidence. Meanwhile, moderate-intensity resistance training outperformed passive blood flow restriction for quadriceps torque, and high-impact activity was linked to 36-48% lower odds of hip replacement, but not to knee replacement risk.
No single winner in chronic low back pain — dose and adherence may matter more
Mind-body exercise and walking programs each show benefit over control conditions in chronic low back pain, but a network meta-analysis comparing mind-body modalities found no between-modality differences, with low certainty of evidence. What may matter more is the dose you prescribe, as low to moderate exercise doses were associated with short-term improvements in pain and disability with limited additional benefit at higher exposure, and the finding that only 45% of adults in one cross-sectional cohort adhered to home exercise, with higher pain intensity and greater treatment burden linked to lower adherence.
Digital support, water, eccentric loading: what knee OA exercise evidence actually shows
Two systematic reviews of knee osteoarthritis, a broader telemedicine review, and a trial compare how exercise is delivered and what it includes. Supervised aquatic exercise shows between-group differences in pain that are generally small or imprecise, and the certainty of evidence ranges from very low to high, predominantly low or very low.
What hop tests, step counts and PROs actually tell you after ACL surgery
A meta-analysis links limb symmetry ≥90% in the single-leg and triple crossover hops for distance to higher return-to-sport odds, but warns distance alone may be insufficient to predict reinjury risk. Meanwhile, smartphone step counts were cross-sectionally associated with pain and function after reconstruction, and delayed surgery independently predicted lower activity scores after proximal tear repair.
Your posture measures may be less solid than you think
Weekly sway testing achieves good-to-excellent reliability when averaged across three weekly assessments, with reliability and precision declining as standing tasks become more difficult, while smartphone-based digital anthropometry shows significant systematic differences from manual measurement and should not currently be considered interchangeable for precise assessment. Beyond measurement, slouched sitting was associated with roughly two-fold higher odds of neck pain, smartphone addiction showed higher postural sway with eyes open, and one RCT found GPR improved craniovertebral and shoulder angles but no between-group advantage for pain or cervical range of motion.