Year in Review – Rehabilitation & Outcomes

Purpose: To systematically review the literature on rehabilitation interventions for osteoarthritis, published between April 2017 and March 2018. Methods: A comprehensive search strategy will be used to search key electronic databases (e.g., PubMed, EMBASE, Cinahl, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database [PEDro], Cochrane). Search terms will include osteoarthritis, rehabilitation, systematic review, and randomised controlled trial. Papers will be included if they fulfil the following criteria: (i) randomised controlled trial (RCT), or systematic review of RCTs; (ii) human participants with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis in any joint (symptoms ± imaging features); (iii) evaluation of a non-surgical, non-pharmacological rehabilitation intervention for osteoarthritis (e.g., exercise, physiotherapy, manual therapy, footwear or shoe inserts, bracing, taping, acupuncture, combined interventions); and (iv) published in English. Methodological quality will be evaluated by two independent reviewers using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and PEDro rating scale for RCTs. A third reviewer will resolve discrepancies if required. Results and conclusions: A summary of key findings will be presented. This will be based on methodological quality and their potential influence on clinical management of osteoarthritis and future rehabilitation research directions.