For patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy, there is low-to moderate quality evidence supporting the use of manual therapy to reduce pain, but not to improve function.
Key messages from this Snapshot Summary include:
- Tendinopathy is generally accepted to be the result of tendon derangement and adverse mechanical loading, in the absence of inflammation.
- For patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy, there is low-to moderate quality evidence supporting the use of manual therapy to reduce pain, but not to improve function.
- For patients with lateral knee or elbow ‘tendinitis’, there is mixed evidence to support the application of manual therapy (specifically deep friction massage) to improve pain and function.