Rehabilitation following shoulder arthroplasty: a survey of current clinical practice patterns of Italian physiotherapists.
Fabrizio Brindisino, Mariangela Lorusso, Michele Usai and 3 others
PMID 37277886WHAT IT FOUND
Most Italian physiotherapists surveyed used manual therapy and progressive exercise, and valued patient education, but many did not use patient-reported outcomes and timing of mobilization, strengthening, and return to sport varied widely.
Key findings
0182.9% of physiotherapists reported managing early pain and swelling with patient education, ice application, cautious passive joint mobilization, and gentle active joint exercises.
0249.9% did not administer patient-reported outcome measures, while 83.9% used strength, active range of motion, and passive range of motion measures.
0353.5% correctly identified shoulder internal rotation, adduction, and extension as movements to avoid after reverse shoulder arthroplasty, and 68.0% prioritized deltoid and scapular muscles for strengthening.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study reported what physiotherapists said they do, not what patients achieved. Participants were recruited through online channels, so the sample may not represent all Italian physiotherapists. The OMPT subgroup was small, so subgroup findings are hard to generalize. The cross-sectional design cannot show that any practice pattern caused better recovery.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these practice patterns as evidence that a specific rehabilitation program improves shoulder arthroplasty outcomes, because the study surveyed what physiotherapists reported doing and did not compare treatments or measure patient recovery.