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Orthopaedic research

Everything we have read on orthopaedic. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

2,015 PAPERS · PAGE 39 OF 41 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTMeta-Analysis2022Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Therapy on Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdding whole-body vibration to a strengthening exercise programme reduced knee osteoarthritis pain, improved self-reported function and get-up-and-go times, and increased knee extensor strength. It did not help stiffness, walking distance, balance, chair stand or gait speed. No adverse events were reported.
• PTRCT2025Is biomechanical loading reduced in individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation during fast-paced walking when using different ankle/foot prostheses? A pragmatic randomized controlled trial.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalFor 20 people with a transtibial amputation walking fast, the carbon Pro-Flex foot lowered the sideways load (knee adduction moment) and peak ground reaction force on the intact leg, but that force arrived faster and the knee flexion moment did not fall.
• PTRCT2025Evaluating the Efficacy of Capacitive Resistive Monopolar Radiofrequency Combined With Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation in Managing Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyAdding 448 kHz radiofrequency to PNF exercises reduced chronic low back pain 2.46 cm more on a 0 to 10 cm scale than PNF alone, and disability by 17.1 points more. No side effects were reported, but there was no placebo group.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022Effectiveness of nonpharmacological therapeutic interventions on pain and physical function in adults with rib fractures during acute care: A systematic review and meta-analysis.The South African journal of physiotherapyCare bundles that include physiotherapy, pain control and respiratory care cut pneumonia after rib fractures: pooled risk fell 63% across two cohort studies. Hospital stay and death rates showed no difference in pooled analyses, and no study measured physical function objectively.
• PTSystematic Review2021Microcurrent Therapy as a Therapeutic Modality for Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review Accelerating the Translation From Clinical Trials to Patient Care.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMicrocurrent therapy beat sham treatment for knee and shoulder pain in single small trials, but not for low back pain. In knee pain the sham itself produced most of the benefit: 57% of the total improvement came from placebo.
• PTSystematic ReviewPhysical Therapist Management of Patients With Suspected or Confirmed Osteoporosis: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)For postmenopausal women, exercise's effect on bone density is small and depends on the exercise type and bone site. Seated strength training and exercise combinations are supported; jumping and vibration platforms are not. Evidence in men is too thin to recommend anything.
• PTRCT2025Comparison Between Tai Chi and Balance Training on Spatiotemporal Parameters and Dual-Task Costs During Stair Negotiation in Participants With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyNeither Tai Chi nor balance training came out ahead on pain or stair walking in knee osteoarthritis, though both eased pain. Counting backwards on stairs did not get easier in either group, but the balance training group reduced the extra effort of counting while descending.
• PTSystematic Review2023Systematic Review to Inform a World Health Organization (WHO) Clinical Practice Guideline: Benefits and Harms of Structured and Standardized Education or Advice for Chronic Primary low back pain in Adults.Journal of occupational rehabilitationEducation and advice may slightly ease pain and improve function in adults with chronic low back pain, but all the evidence is very uncertain and could change. One trial found sham taping did better for pain.
• PTSystematic Review2025Risk Factors Associated with New Onset of Shoulder Pain and Injury Among the Athletic Population: A Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of sports physical therapyThere is no single cause of shoulder pain in overhead athletes: risk sits in sport-specific range of motion, strength, past injury and training-load spikes. Only one included trial tested prevention, and it reduced shoulder injuries in handball players.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023Risk factors for rotator cuff disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicineDiabetes and high blood lipids each come up repeatedly as linked to rotator cuff disease across pooled observational studies. The high blood pressure link looks real on paper but rests on biased studies, and the one study that followed people forward in time found no link.
• PTRCTFour Square Step Test Performance in Hip Fracture Patients.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)Four months after hip fracture, 13 of 40 patients could not attempt the Four Square Step Test and 74% of those who did took longer than 15 seconds. Left-side fractures were slowest, especially when visual cognition was poor.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Effects of proprioceptive exercise for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesProprioceptive exercise improved balance on the Timed Up and Go test by 1.53 seconds, past the 1.3-second threshold patients can feel. Pain, stiffness and physical function did not improve enough to matter.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Effects of Analgesics on Self-Reported Physical Function and Walking Ability in People With Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Physical therapyNSAIDs, acetaminophen and opioids each gave a small improvement in what people with hip or knee osteoarthritis said they could do day to day. NSAIDs also eased pain while walking. The improvements were small and only around 12 weeks of treatment was tested.
• PTSystematic Review2024The methodological quality of clinical trials of physical therapy for low back pain varies between countries with different income levels. A meta-epidemiological study.Brazilian journal of physical therapyTrials of physical therapy for low back pain run in low- and lower-middle-income countries scored lower on methodological quality than trials from richer countries, 4.8 versus 5.5 points out of 10. Seven in ten trials came from high-income countries.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Virtual reality-based interventions enhance functional status, balance and muscle strength in patients with ankle instability: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineVirtual reality training beat conventional therapy or usual care for ankle function and for static and dynamic balance in people with ankle instability, mostly young men. Strength gains were patchy: plantar flexion and eversion only, and not hopping or jumping.
• PTSystematic Review2023Comparing the occurrence of chronic physical disorders in self-employed individuals with that of employees: A systematic review.Work (Reading, Mass.)Self-employed workers had higher rates of heart disease and stroke than nonmanual workers but lower rates than manual workers. Most one-off surveys found more muscle and joint complaints among the self-employed than employees.
• PTRCT2022Do Physical Therapy and Yoga Improve Pain and Disability through Psychological Mechanisms? A Causal Mediation Analysis of Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain.The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapyImprovements in perceived stress explained about a third of physical therapy's benefit on back-related disability at one year compared with an education book. The advantage was small, and no psychological factor explained PT's or yoga's effect on pain.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022A systematic review of working conditions and occupational health in home office.Work (Reading, Mass.)Home-based teleworkers reported poorly set-up workstations, long unbroken computer hours, and pain in the neck, back, shoulders, wrists and eyes, yet most get no employer training or equipment. Many still felt healthier at home and kept working while unwell.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Association Between Patient and Facility Characteristics and Rehabilitation Outcomes After Joint Replacement Surgery in Different Rehabilitation Settings for Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)After hip or knee replacement, older adults rehabilitating in inpatient rehabilitation facilities tended to have better function, fewer complications and shorter stays than those in skilled nursing facilities, which cost less. One study found no difference in motor scores.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Effect of home exercise programs in patients with non-tears rotator cuff-related shoulder pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineHome exercise worked as well as supervised physiotherapy for non-tear rotator cuff shoulder pain. In 12 trials, pain, disability and function at 12 weeks did not differ significantly between the two. Both groups improved enough to be judged clinically meaningful.
• PTRCT2026Effect of tele-rehabilitation on health outcomes in overweight and obese elderly women with locomotor disabilities from knee osteoarthritis: A randomised controlled trial.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liaoOverweight and obese women with knee osteoarthritis who exercised under a physiotherapist through a phone app improved more in pain, walking, sleep and quality of life than those given a brochure and left to exercise alone. Both groups did the same exercises.
• PTRCT2026Comparison of the short-term effects of Mulligan and Maitland mobilisation techniques combined with home-based exercise for non-specific neck pain: A randomised controlled trial.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liaoMulligan and Maitland mobilisation, each added to a daily home exercise programme, were no better than the exercises alone for pain, neck movement, pressure pain threshold or fear of movement after two weeks. All three groups improved.
• PTCohort2026Preoperative physiotherapy and one-year patient-reported outcomes after primary total knee arthroplasty: a registry-based cohort study of 1,688 patients.Journal of rehabilitation medicineHaving supervised physiotherapy before knee replacement made no difference to patients' reported physical function at 2 months or 1 year. Those who did not have it scored slightly better at every time point, most likely because they started off in better shape.
• PTOther2026Negative binomial modeling of musculoskeletal ultrasound grayscale histograms: a three-device comparison and harmonization study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesMuscle ultrasound brightness readings are not comparable between machines: the same muscle measured differently on each of the three scanners tested. A statistical conversion brought brightness readings into agreement across devices, but texture converted less reliably, and the SonoSite Titan was hardest to convert.
• PTRCT2026Functional proprioceptive stimulation promotes early rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAdding vibration stimulation to the CPM machine during the first two weeks after ACL reconstruction gave greater active knee flexion than CPM alone (+48.6° versus +31.4° gained). Pain intensity and passive range of motion showed no clear difference.
• PTCase-Control2026Psychological and Neuromechanical Recovery After Concussion: Dual-Task Stability and Kinesiophobia from Return to Play to Six Months.International journal of sports physical therapyAthletes cleared to return to play after concussion reported more fear of movement than uninjured controls (about 3 points more on a scale running to 44), but their balance and single-leg landing were no worse, even with a mental task added.
• PTSurvey2026Physiotherapists' knowledge, attitude and practice of motor learning in stroke rehabilitation.The South African journal of physiotherapyOf 40 South African physiotherapists surveyed, most had only moderate knowledge of motor learning and none scored well, though nearly all valued it. Most gave feedback with an internal focus rather than the external focus the literature recommends.
• PTOther2026Effects of empowered relief on pain catastrophizing and outcomes post-total knee arthroplasty: A quasi-experimental study.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liaoKnee replacement patients who also got a two-hour Empowered Relief session before surgery scored much lower on catastrophic thinking about pain three months later than those given usual care alone (median 5 versus 19.5). Groups were not randomly assigned, so this is not proof.
• PTSystematic Review2023Rehabilitation after lumbar spine surgery in adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Archives of physiotherapySupervised exercise after lumbar disc herniation surgery may reduce short-term pain and disability versus home exercise, but the evidence is low quality and the pain benefit is minimal. Lumbar range of motion did not improve.
• PTRCT2025A Telehealth Physical Therapy Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Adults With Knee OA: The Delaware PEAK Randomized Controlled Trial.The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapyThe primary outcome was null. Five telehealth PT consultations over 12 weeks did not increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in adults with knee OA compared to a website control. The between-group difference was −1.8 minutes per day.
• PTOTRCT2024The effectiveness of a 6-month intervention with sit-stand workstation in office workers: Results from the SUFHA cluster randomized controlled trial.Work (Reading, Mass.)A 6-month sit-stand desk did not reduce sitting time compared to a waiting-list control in 38 university office workers. Prolonged sitting bouts fell by about 26 min/day within the desk group, but the difference from control was not significant.
• PTRCT2024Optimising physiotherapy for people with lateral elbow tendinopathy - Results of a mixed-methods pilot and feasibility randomised controlled trial (OPTimisE).Musculoskeletal science & practiceBoth groups improved over six months with no clear advantage for the structured intervention. The authors question whether a future head-to-head trial is warranted and propose comparing diagnosis, reassurance and self-help advice against usual care.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2023Systematic Review to Inform a World Health Organization (WHO) Clinical Practice Guideline: Benefits and Harms of Needling Therapies for Chronic Primary Low Back Pain in Adults.Journal of occupational rehabilitationNeedling therapies for chronic low back pain showed a small pain reduction versus sham that fell short of the minimally important difference. Versus no treatment, pain and function improved more. All evidence is low or very low certainty.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023Mind-Body Exercise Performed by Physical Therapists for Reducing Pain and Disability in Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationPilates delivered by a physical therapist beat non-exercise controls for pain in the short term, but showed no long-term advantage and no clear edge over other exercise. The evidence is thin: 8 small trials, 7 of them Pilates.
• PTRCT2021Neuromuscular training after concussion to improve motor and psychosocial outcomes: A feasibility trial.Physical therapy in sport : official journal of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports MedicineAn 8-week supervised neuromuscular training program after concussion clearance was feasible to deliver to adolescent athletes. 55% completed all 16 sessions, no adverse events occurred. This trial did not test whether the program improves outcomes or reduces injury risk.
• PTSystematic Review2023Effect of Conservative Interventions for Musculoskeletal Disorders in Preprofessional and Professional Dancers: A Systematic Review.International journal of sports physical therapyThe only randomized trial found a conditioning program reduced pain and low back injuries but not aerobic capacity or strength. Dry needling showed no benefit for pain or range of motion. The remaining evidence came from uncontrolled studies with small samples.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022Functional outcome measures for distal radius fractures: A systematic review.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTDASH, ROM, and Grip dominated outcome measurement in distal radius fracture studies, but 89% of studies used multiple measures to cover both body function and activity. No single measure captures the full picture.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Cognitive Functional Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Physical therapyAt 12 months, CFT improved disability and self-efficacy in chronic low back pain, but pain was not clearly better than the comparison group. Shorter-term gains in pain and disability were more consistent. The strength of the evidence varied from low to high.
• PTSystematic Review2024Interventions to Improve Long-Term Adherence to Physical Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)Adjunct coaching, text messages, and booster sessions added to standard physical therapy did not improve long-term adherence to home exercise programs in chronic back or knee pain. One text-message study showed a small benefit. The evidence is too thin to draw firm conclusions.
• PTSystematic Review2024Pragmatism in manual therapy trials for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review.Archives of physiotherapyMost manual therapy trials for knee OA (29 of 34) were designed under controlled conditions with narrow patient selection, not in the varied settings where you would actually treat these patients. Their findings may not transfer to your typical knee OA patient.
• PTSystematic Review2025The Effectiveness of Telerehabilitation in Managing Pain, Strength, and Balance in Adult Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesRemote physiotherapy eased knee osteoarthritis pain about as much as clinic-based care in the trials comparing them head to head. Strength and balance were rarely measured. The 6 trials were too different to combine, so this is a description of each, not one answer.
• PTSystematic Review2022Real-Time Telerehabilitation in Older Adults With Musculoskeletal Conditions: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesReal-time video-based exercise for older adults with musculoskeletal conditions (mostly knee replacement) matched or beat in-person physiotherapy on balance, strength, and range of motion, at lower cost. Evidence comes from 10 trials with mixed quality, mostly post-surgical.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Effectiveness of Neural Mobilisation on Pain Intensity, Functional Status, and Physical Performance in Adults with Musculoskeletal Pain - A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Clinical rehabilitationNeural mobilisation reduced pain and improved function in low back pain, and reduced pain in neck pain, but only when bundled with other treatments. It did not improve flexibility or range of motion. The evidence behind all of this is very weak.
• PTRCT2024Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation therapy versus manual therapy in patients with neck pain: a randomised controlled trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePNF therapy was better than manual therapy for disability, pain, and neck range of motion in women with chronic neck pain from osteoarthritis. The difference was present at 2 weeks and at 3 months.
• PTOther2026GPT-4 outperforms junior expert physical therapists in sports medicine rehabilitation: an evaluation of AI response quality and adaptiveness.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesGPT-4's written answers to sports rehabilitation questions outscored those of three junior expert physical therapists on both quality and adaptiveness, for patient-facing and therapist-facing responses alike.
• PTSurvey2026Diagnostic and Procedural Imaging Curricula in Musculoskeletal Physical Therapist Residency and Fellowship Education.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyMost orthopedic and sports PT residency and fellowship programs teach how to read and integrate imaging results, but only 29% teach how to refer for imaging. Programs rate graduates' ability to sign referrals as low (16-26% proficient), despite expecting them to be the ordering clinician.
• PTSystematic Review2026Clinical effectiveness of lumbosacral orthoses in chronic non-specific low back pain: a systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesBraces for chronic low back pain did not show consistent benefit across 11 trials of 606 people. Some improved pain or disability short-term, one made outcomes worse, and longer-term evidence is limited.
• PTRCT2026Physiotherapy informed by acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic low back pain: A randomized trial.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liaoACT-informed physiotherapy produced higher exercise motivation and adherence than standard care in 50 people with chronic low back pain, but both groups improved equally on disability. The motivation shift favored more internal, values-driven reasons for exercising.
• PTOther2026Closed-Loop digital therapeutics empowered by deep reinforcement learning and wearable sensing for precision orthopedic rehabilitation: a simulation-based proof-of-concept study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn a computer simulation of recovery after ACL reconstruction, an AI system that adjusts exercise prescriptions in real time reached the safe-return milestone faster than a conservative fixed protocol and had fewer simulated re-injuries than an aggressive one. No real patients were involved.
• PTQualitative2026Adherence to a Digital Knee Rehabilitation Platform Among Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Hong Kong: Qualitative Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPatients with knee OA or post-ACL surgery described the platform as redundant with their physiotherapy, mismatched to their recovery stage, and harder to reach than YouTube or a reminder app. When any fit point broke, they stopped using it but often kept exercising elsewhere.