Sources

Check the population and comparison

Check the population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and follow-up. A guideline has a defined clinical scope; a review inherits limitations from its included studies. A research protocol is not automatically a prescription for every reader.

The list is a targeted source collection, not an exhaustive systematic review. For a practical method, open How to read rehabilitation research.

Clinical and regional sources

1. WHO · Guideline for non-surgical management of chronic primary low back pain (2023)

   Applies to chronic primary low back pain in adults. Recommendations account for uncertainty and the whole person.

2. NICE NG59 · Low back pain and sciatica: recommendations

   Assessment, activity, exercise, and the circumstances in which imaging may change care.

3. Cochrane · Exercise treatment for chronic low back pain (2021)

   A synthesis of varied exercise programmes; average benefits do not identify the best exercise for one person.

4. Brinjikji et al. · Spinal degeneration on imaging in people without symptoms (2015)

   Incidental findings become more common with age. Clinical context remains necessary.

5. JOSPT/APTA · Neck Pain: Revision 2017

   A clinical practice guideline with different recommendations for different neck-pain presentations.

6. JOSPT · Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy Clinical Practice Guideline (2025)

   Covers tendinopathy, calcification, and partial-thickness tears; full-thickness tears are outside its scope.

7. Hopewell et al. · The GRASP randomized trial (2021)

   Both comparison groups received exercise advice. The progressive programme did not show superiority on the primary shoulder pain/disability outcome over 12 months.

8. NICE NG226 · Osteoarthritis: recommendations (2022)

   Tailored strengthening and aerobic exercise are core options for diagnosed osteoarthritis.

9. Cochrane · Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee (2024)

   Benefit estimates depend on the comparison and outcome. These findings do not describe all causes of knee pain.

10. JOSPT/APTA · Lateral Ankle Ligament Sprains: Revision 2021

    Rehabilitation considers motion, strength, balance, and functional stability after sprain or with chronic instability.

11. Powden et al. · Reliability and minimal detectable change of the weight-bearing lunge test (2015)

    Research measurement-error estimates depend on examiner and protocol; they are not universal home-test cutoffs.

12. Griffin et al. · The Warwick Agreement on FAI syndrome (2016)

    Diagnosis combines symptoms, clinical signs, and imaging. A pinching sensation alone does not establish FAI syndrome.

13. Frank et al. · Hip imaging findings in asymptomatic volunteers (2015)

    Imaging findings occur in pain-free people; the included populations and imaging definitions limit generalization.

14. JOSPT/APTA · Hamstring Strain Injury in Athletes (2022)

    Guidance for diagnosed athletic strains, rather than a diagnosis or protocol for every pulling sensation.

15. Murape et al. · Neurodynamic treatment and neural mechanosensitivity (2022)

    Study eligibility and diagnostic definitions varied; most included studies had high risk of bias.

Exercise, pain, and learning

1. Alizadeh et al. · Resistance training and range of motion: systematic review (2023)

   Controlled studies in healthy participants suggest externally loaded resistance exercise can improve range of motion.

2. Practical recommendations on stretching exercise · Expert consensus (2025)

   Distinguishes flexibility, stiffness, performance, strength, recovery, and injury prevention. Consensus is not a universal rehabilitation prescription.

3. U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines · Key recommendations

   Broad public-health guidance on physical activity. It does not validate a particular rehabilitation sequence.

4. OSHA · Computer workstation evaluation checklist

   Equipment and workspace checks, including laptop keyboards, screen placement, reach, and opportunities to change position. This is workstation guidance, not a diagnosis of neck pain.

5. IASP · Revised definition of pain and accompanying notes

   Pain and nociception are distinct; biological, psychological, and social influences matter.

6. NIH National Institute on Aging · Pain: You Can Get Help

   Practical guidance on describing pain, its timing, severity, triggers, and effect on daily life.

7. Zourdos et al. · A resistance-training RPE scale based on repetitions in reserve (2016)

   A small study of squat performance; it does not establish a universal effort target for rehabilitation.

8. Halperin et al. · Accuracy in predicting repetitions to task failure (2022)

   RIR predictions contain error, with substantial variation across studies and testing conditions.

9. Kantak & Winstein · Learning, performance, and memory in motor skills (2012)

   Retention and transfer distinguish durable learning from temporary practice performance.

10. Contextual interference and transfer in motor learning · Systematic review (2024)

    Random versus blocked practice can help transfer, but effects vary and applied settings are less certain than laboratory settings.

11. Breda et al. · Progressive tendon-loading exercise therapy in patellar tendinopathy (2021)

    A staged programme outperformed eccentric-only exercise on one symptom/function measure. It does not identify one best protocol for all tendons.

12. Clifford et al. · Isometric exercise in the management of tendinopathy (2020)

    Ten studies across several tendon sites, with substantial quality limitations. Isometrics did not show consistent superiority for pain relief.

13. Proske & Gandevia · The proprioceptive senses (2012)

    Physiological review of body position, movement, effort, and force sensing.

14. World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults (2022)

    High-risk adults need assessment across balance, strength, medications, vision, cardiovascular factors, and environment.

15. Sherrington et al. · Exercise for preventing falls in community-dwelling older people (2019)

    Fall-rate reductions are relative group estimates, not guarantees for an individual.

16. Aspetar · Rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction: clinical practice guideline (2023)

    Proposed return-to-running criteria include expert judgment; the authors identify a lack of research validating those criteria.

17. George et al. · Return to running after tibial bone stress injury (2024)

    Scoping review with mainly low-level evidence. Injury risk, healing, and contributing factors change the plan.

Measurement and research interpretation

1. de Vet et al. · Detectable change versus important change (2006)

   Measurement error and importance are different concepts. Thresholds depend on instrument, population, and method.

2. Wellsandt et al. · Limb symmetry can overestimate knee function after ACL injury (2017)

   The comparison limb can change during recovery. This ACL cohort does not establish universal symmetry criteria.

3. Cochrane Handbook · Interpreting results and drawing conclusions

   Interpret magnitude, confidence intervals, harms, certainty, and applicability together.

4. Cochrane Handbook · Choosing effect measures

   Relative risk, absolute effects, and standardized mean differences answer different questions.

5. Cochrane Handbook · Summary of findings and certainty of evidence

   Certainty is judged by outcome and includes bias, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision, and publication bias.

Suggest a correction or source

Send the page URL, relevant claim, and source to editor@gainofmotion.com. Explain which population or outcome makes the source applicable. A newer paper can be useful, but publication date alone does not establish stronger evidence.