Therapeutic exercise for rotator cuff tendinopathy: a systematic review of contextual factors and prescription parameters.

Exercise is widely regarded as an effective intervention for symptomatic rotator cuff tendinopathy but the prescription is diverse and the important components of such programmes are not well understood. The objective of this study was to systematically review the contextual factors and prescription parameters of published exercise programmes for rotator cuff tendinopathy, to generate recommendations based on current evidence. An electronic search of AMED, CiNAHL, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, PEDro and SPORTDiscus was undertaken from their inception to June 2014 and supplemented by hand searching.

The quality of reporting might not reflect the quality of the study: implications for undertaking and appraising a systematic review.

The systematic review has become an increasingly popular method of synthesizing findings on a topic in order to inform clinical practice, commissioning of care, and future research. A central component of the systematic review is an assessment of study quality or risk of bias, i.e.

Exercise for rotator cuff tendinopathy: a systematic review.

Background: Shoulder pain due to rotator cuff tendinopathy is a common problem. Exercise is one intervention used to address this problem but conclusions from previous reviews have been mixed.

Objective: To systematically review the effectiveness of exercise, incorporating loaded exercise (against gravity or resistance), for rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Reliability of physical examination tests used in the assessment of patients with shoulder problems: a systematic review.

Background: Shoulder pain is a common clinical problem, and numerous tests are used to diagnose structural pathology.

Objectives: To systematically review the reliability of physical examination procedures used in the clinical examination of patients with shoulder pain.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, PEDro, AMED, PsychInfo, Cochrane Library (2009) and CINAHL were searched from the earliest record on the database to June 2009.