AB134. The effectiveness of education for people with shoulder pain: a systematic review
Abstract

AB134. The effectiveness of education for people with shoulder pain: a systematic review

Zixin Zhang1,2, Giovanni E. Ferreira1,2, John Samuel Downes3, Joseph Vincent Cockburn3, William James Burke3, Peter Malliaras4, Luis Fernando Sousa Filho4, Christopher G. Maher1,2, Joshua R. Zadro1,2

1Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 2Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 3Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 4School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Department of Physiotherapy, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Background: Clinical guidelines endorse patient education as a first-line treatment for shoulder pain; however, its effectiveness remains unclear. Evidence from other musculoskeletal conditions suggests that patient education provides small, short-term improvements in pain and function. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of education for people with shoulder pain.

Methods: We searched several databases (e.g., MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL) and trial registries from inception to 25th May 2023. Randomized controlled trials investigating any education for people with shoulder pain were included for this study. Primary outcomes were pain and disability. We used the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale to assess the methodological quality of included literatures. Meta-analysis was not appropriate due to heterogeneity.

Results: We included 14 trials (eight had high methodological quality). The one trial on rotator-cuff related shoulder pain did not assess pain or disability but found best practice education (vs. structure-focused education) increased reassurance and intentions to stay active. The one trial on adhesive capsulitis found daily reminders, encouragement, and education about exercise via text did not improve pain and disability compared to no education. For post-operative shoulder pain, two (of four) trials found education reduced some measure of pain, but none found an effect on disability or any other outcomes. For ‘shoulder complaints’ (i.e., mixed or unclear diagnosis), no trials found education was more effective than home exercise or no education for improving pain or disability.

Conclusions: Some forms of education appear to improve reassurance, treatment intentions, perceived treatment needs, recovery expectations, and knowledge, but their effect on pain and disability is unclear. High-quality trials are needed to resolve uncertainty surrounding the benefit of education for shoulder pain, particularly rotator-cuff-related shoulder pain and adhesive capsulitis.

Keywords: Patient education; shoulder pain; rotator cuff-related shoulder pain

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/jphe-26-ab134
Cite this abstract as: Zhang Z, Ferreira GE, Downes JS, Cockburn JV, Burke WJ, Malliaras P, Filho LFS, Maher CG, Zadro JR. AB134. The effectiveness of education for people with shoulder pain: a systematic review. J Public Health Emerg 2026;10:AB134.

Article Options

Download Citation

Share