Treatment Decision-Making for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture From the Perspective of Physical Therapists in Australia: A Mixed Methods Study.

The survey relied on physical therapists' self-report, which may be affected by recall and social desirability. The survey was pilot tested but not evaluated for content validity, so it may not fully capture the intended topics. Not all consented participants completed every survey item, and missing data were analysed by item. Participants may not represent all Australian physical therapists who manage ACL rupture, because recruitment was voluntary and may have attracted those with a special interest. The response rate was unknown, and unique site visitors could not be counted, so someone may have completed the survey more than once. The qualitative analysis did not include member checking to confirm themes with participants.

Funding declarations name the Australian and New Zealand Musculoskeletal Clinical Trials Network, with the National Health and Medical Research Council listed as a seeding funder and investigator funder. The text states that funders had no role in the design, conduct or reporting of the study. No additional author conflicts are declared in the supplied text.

Do not read this as evidence that rehabilitation alone is better or worse than surgery. The study describes physical therapists' beliefs, reported information and perceived barriers, not patient outcomes or a comparison of treatments.