Protocol for a multicenter, randomised controlled trial of surgeon-directed home therapy vs. outpatient rehabilitation by physical therapists for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty: the SHORT trial.

No patient outcomes from the trial are reported, so this paper cannot show which rehabilitation approach is better. The planned trial will allow crossover, with about a 15% crossover rate expected, and patients and research assistants will know group assignment. All participating surgeons are fellowship-trained shoulder surgeons, so results may not apply to surgeons without that training. Outpatient therapists may vary from the protocol because individual physical therapy sessions are not monitored for fidelity. Surgeon-delivered home instruction may vary across sites because delivery is not standardized beyond the exercise handouts. Participants must speak, read, or write English and be able to attend physical therapy, so the planned trial excludes some patients. Different implant systems are used at surgeon discretion, although implant characteristics are recorded. The measurement reliability study used only 10 measurers and 3 subjects, so it does not establish how well the measurements work in many patients.

The study is externally funded by the Orthopedic Research and Education/The Aircast Foundation grant number 18–058. The paper states the funder's role was solely financial and not influential or contributory to design or interpretation. No other author conflicts are reported.

Do not conclude that surgeon-directed home therapy is as good as, better than, or worse than outpatient physical therapy. No trial outcomes are reported; the paper only describes the planned comparison and hypotheses.