A prospective study of patients with knee pain and mechanical diagnosis and therapy (MDT) classification.

Objectives: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted to 1) determine the prevalence of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) syndromes for patients with knee impairments, and 2) report the interaction between MDT classification and clinical outcomes, including pain intensity and disability, at discharge.

Methods: Clinical outcome measures were completed at intake and discharge on 186 patients. A two-way mixed model analysis of variance with subsequent pairwise comparisons was done to examine differences between the following MDT classifications: Knee Derangement, Knee Dysfunction, and Other.

Classification by pain pattern for patients with cervical spine radiculopathy.

Objectives: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted to (1) report the prevalence of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) classifications, Centralization (CEN), and Non-CEN among patients with Cervical Spine Radiculopathy (CSR), and (2) describe the association between classification via CEN and Non-CEN and clinical outcomes at follow-up.

Methods: Data were collected from 680 consecutive patients who presented to outpatient, orthopedic physical therapy clinics with primary complaints of neck pain with and without radiculopathy; thirty-nine patients (6%) met the physical examination inclusion criteria for CSR. First examination and follow-up data were completed by 19 patients.

A prospective study of patients with shoulder pain and Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT).

: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted to (1) determine the prevalence of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) syndromes for patients with shoulder impairments and (2) report the interaction between MDT classification and clinical outcomes, including pain intensity and disability, at discharge.: Clinical outcome measures were completed at intake and discharge by 115 patients. A two-way mixed model analysis of variance with subsequent pairwise comparisons was done to examine differences in clinical outcomes between the following MDT classifications: Shoulder Derangement, Shoulder Dysfunction, and Other.

Directional preference constructs for patients' neck pain in the absence of centralization.

: We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective, observational cohort study to (1) report the prevalence of Directional Preference (DP) constructs at first examination for patients with cervical spine challenges, and (2) determine the association between DP constructs and clinical outcomes at discharge from physical therapy. : We analyzed data collected from 718 consecutive patients who presented to outpatient, private practice clinics with primary complaints of non-specific neck pain; 200 patients met the inclusion criteria and completed first examination and discharge data. Statistical analysis determined the association between DP constructs at first examination and clinical outcomes at discharge.

Directional preference constructs for patients' low back pain in the absence of centralization.

A detailed description of how Directional Preference (DP) constructs are measured could accelerate research to practice translation and improve research findings for Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) stakeholders. A secondary analysis of a prospective, observational cohort study was conducted to understand (1) the type and prevalence of DP constructs at first examination and (2) the relationships between DP constructs and clinical outcomes at follow-up. Data were collected and analyzed from 1485 consecutive patients who presented to outpatient, private practice clinics with primary complaints of non-specific low back pain (LBP); 400 patients met the inclusion criteria and completed first examination and follow-up data.

Pain pattern classification and directional preference for patients with neck pain.

Pain Pattern Classification (PPC) and Directional Preference (DP) have been shown to be predictive of health care outcomes and serve to guide orthopedic clinical decision making. We conducted a prospective, observational cohort study to verify the association between PPC, DP, and clinical outcomes. Clinical outcome measures including pain intensity and disability were completed at first examination and follow-up by 335 patients.

Provider reliability with interventions for knee impairments: a preliminary investigation to facilitate development of an MDT-based knee intervention taxonomy.

: The lack of a standardized intervention taxonomy in comparative effectiveness research trials has led to uncertainty regarding the management of individuals with knee impairments. Inconsistently and poorly defined interventions affect frontline-care providers' abilities to understand and assimilate research findings into practice. An intervention taxonomy could help overcome the lack of treatment specificity commonly found in research trials.

Pain pattern classification and directional preference are associated with clinical outcomes for patients with low back pain.

Pain Pattern Classification (PPC) and Directional Preference (DP) have shown merit as reliable and predictable clinical solutions to help reduce the burden posed by low back pain (LBP). We conducted a prospective, observational cohort study to verify the association between PPC, DP, and clinical outcomes. We hypothesized that (1) patients who demonstrated DP Centralization (CEN) would have lower pain intensity and disability at follow-up than patients who demonstrated Non-DP Non-CEN, and (2) the prevalence of DP at first examination would be lowest for patients with chronic LBP and are greater than 65 years old.

The application of mechanical diagnosis and therapy in lateral epicondylalgia.

Background: lateral epicondylalgia (LE) is a musculoskeletal diagnosis that causes pain and dysfunction in the lateral aspect of the elbow. Mechanical diagnosis and therapy (MDT) is an orthopaedic classification and treatment system based on mechanical and symptomatic response to repeated and sustained end-range movement. There has been no investigation of the association between MDT and patients diagnosed with LE.