
AbstractBackground and PurposeUnderstanding 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).MethodsTwo 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.ResultsMost 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.ConclusionThe 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.
Male, Adult, Allied health and rehabilitation science, 610, Pain, Tennis Elbow, Epicondylitis, Grip Strength, Management, Physical Therapists, Elbow Tendinopathy, Surveys and Questionnaires, Tendinopathy, Humans, Female, 3612 Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Physiotherapy, Physical Examination, Physical Therapy Modalities
Male, Adult, Allied health and rehabilitation science, 610, Pain, Tennis Elbow, Epicondylitis, Grip Strength, Management, Physical Therapists, Elbow Tendinopathy, Surveys and Questionnaires, Tendinopathy, Humans, Female, 3612 Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Physiotherapy, Physical Examination, Physical Therapy Modalities
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 2 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
