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The content and reporting completeness of physical therapist-led interventions for glenohumeral osteoarthritis: a
Daha G Muhammad1, Nadine E Foster1,2, Mickylle Pelaez3
1Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) Education and Research Alliance, The University of Queensland and Metro North Health, Brisbane, Australia.
Objectives:
This study synthesised the content and reporting completeness of published physical therapist-led interventions for glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHOA).
Methods:
This systematic review undertook electronic database searches in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL and PEDro (until June 2025) for any peer-reviewed articles/studies describing physical therapist-led interventions across non-surgical and perioperative settings for adults aged 45 years and over with GHOA. The content and reporting completeness were synthesized using the 22-item Template for Intervention Description and Replication for rehabilitation interventions (TIDIeR_Rehab).
Results:
Overall, 134 articles/studies describing 156 physical therapist-led interventions were included, comprising mostly case series designs (n=47, 35.1%) or narrative reviews (n=38, 28.4%). Of the remaining 49 articles/studies, only 11 were studies reporting RCT results and three were protocols of RCTs in progress. Intervention content varied considerably, and the overall completeness of intervention item reporting was poor (only 18%). Interventions in non-surgical contexts commonly included strengthening exercises (n=33, 53.2%), range of motion (ROM) exercises (n=23, 37.1%), and electrotherapy modalities (n=16, 25.8%). Sling immobilisation was most reported in postoperative interventions (n=64, 72.7%). Many different proposed mechanisms of action were reported (n=49, 31.4%); but all were biomechanically orientated.
Conclusion:
Very few high-quality empirical studies evaluating physical therapist-led interventions for GHOA have been published. We found substantial heterogeneity in the content of published physical therapist-led interventions, and the reporting completeness was generally poor. This suggests considerable uncertainty regarding best practice physical therapy for GHOA in terms of intervention content. Future high-quality empirical research is needed, preferably using RCT designs that include clear descriptions of interventions.