Physiotherapy practices in the clinical assessment of lateral elbow tendinopathy: An international survey.
diagnosis
lateral epicondylalgia
physical therapy
tennis elbow
Journal
Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy
ISSN: 1471-2865
Titre abrégé: Physiother Res Int
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 9612022
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Oct 2024
Oct 2024
Historique:
revised:
26
07
2024
received:
28
05
2023
accepted:
14
08
2024
medline:
24
8
2024
pubmed:
24
8
2024
entrez:
24
8
2024
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Understanding physiotherapy practices is important to identify variations from empirical evidence and highlight requirements for training. This survey explored international physiotherapy practices for assessment of lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET). Two hundred ninety-nine surveyed physiotherapists from eight member countries of the International Federation of Manual and Orthopaedic Physical Therapists completed the survey. Respondents rated their frequency of use (never, rarely, sometimes, often, and always) for items related to: patient history; diagnostic tests; grip and upper limb strength; cervical and neurological assessment; and medical imaging. To establish practices, the five response categories were dichotomised into routine practice (often, always) and not-routine practice (sometimes, rarely, never). A response rate of ≥70% for each dichotomy was used to determine whether an assessment item was deemed routine practice or not, with items not meeting either criterion considered neither routine nor not-routine practice. Most respondents were from United States (63%). The 'chair pick up test', 'cervical special tests', and 'plain radiograph' met our criteria for not routine practice (i.e., 70%, 72%, and 71%, respectively). All other assessment items did not meet the criteria to be considered routine or not-routine practice. The chair pick-up test, cervical spine special tests (e.g., Spurling's test), and plain radiography appear to not be routinely used in the assessment of LET. The finding that no assessment technique met the criteria for routine use may imply that physiotherapists adopt a nuanced approach to selecting clinical assessment items as opposed to routinely applying tests.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
OBJECTIVE
Understanding physiotherapy practices is important to identify variations from empirical evidence and highlight requirements for training. This survey explored international physiotherapy practices for assessment of lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET).
METHODS
METHODS
Two hundred ninety-nine surveyed physiotherapists from eight member countries of the International Federation of Manual and Orthopaedic Physical Therapists completed the survey. Respondents rated their frequency of use (never, rarely, sometimes, often, and always) for items related to: patient history; diagnostic tests; grip and upper limb strength; cervical and neurological assessment; and medical imaging. To establish practices, the five response categories were dichotomised into routine practice (often, always) and not-routine practice (sometimes, rarely, never). A response rate of ≥70% for each dichotomy was used to determine whether an assessment item was deemed routine practice or not, with items not meeting either criterion considered neither routine nor not-routine practice.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Most respondents were from United States (63%). The 'chair pick up test', 'cervical special tests', and 'plain radiograph' met our criteria for not routine practice (i.e., 70%, 72%, and 71%, respectively). All other assessment items did not meet the criteria to be considered routine or not-routine practice.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
The chair pick-up test, cervical spine special tests (e.g., Spurling's test), and plain radiography appear to not be routinely used in the assessment of LET. The finding that no assessment technique met the criteria for routine use may imply that physiotherapists adopt a nuanced approach to selecting clinical assessment items as opposed to routinely applying tests.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
e2125Informations de copyright
© 2024 The Author(s). Physiotherapy Research International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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