The Working Alliance Inventory's Measurement Properties: A Systematic Review.

Unlabelled: Measurement properties of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and its various translations and adaptations for specific target groups have been investigated for over 30 years. No systematic review analyzing studies on measurement properties of the WAI has been conducted to date. COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurements INstruments (COSMIN) were developed for conducting high-quality systematic reviews on measurement properties in a transparent and standardized way.

Does the outcome of diagnostic ultrasound influence the treatment modalities and recovery in patients with shoulder pain in physiotherapy practice? Results from a prospective cohort study.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study including patients with shoulder pain in primary care physiotherapy.

Background: There is an increased tendency to use diagnostic ultrasound to aid the diagnostic strategy and target treatment. It is a relatively cheap and accessible imaging technique but the implications for practice and patients are unknown.

Development of a Prognostic Model for Patients With Shoulder Complaints in Physical Therapist Practice.

Background: Health care providers need prognostic factors to distinguish between patients who are likely to recover and those who are not likely to recover.

Objective: The aim of this study was to: (1) describe the clinical course of recovery and (2) identify prognostic factors of recovery in patients with shoulder pain at the 26-week follow-up.

Design: A prospective cohort study was carried out in the Netherlands and included 389 patients who consulted a physical therapist for a new episode of shoulder pain.

Effect of routine diagnostic imaging for patients with musculoskeletal disorders: A meta-analysis.

Purpose: The increasing use of diagnostic imaging has led to high expenditures, unnecessary invasive procedures and/or false-positive diagnoses, without certainty that the patients actually benefit from these imaging procedures. This review explores whether diagnostic imaging leads to better patient-reported outcomes in individuals with musculoskeletal disorders.

Method: Databases were searched from inception to September 2013, together with scrutiny of selected bibliographies.

Current management and prognostic factors in physiotherapy practice for patients with shoulder pain: design of a prospective cohort study.

Background: Shoulder pain is disabling and has a considerable socio-economic impact. Over 50% of patients presenting in primary care still have symptoms after 6 months; moreover, prognostic factors such as pain intensity, age, disability level and duration of complaints are associated with poor outcome. Most shoulder complaints in this group are categorized as non-specific.