Table 5.
Dose and duration of exercise interventions in included reviews
| Review | Duration | Frequency (sessions per day/wk/month) | Intensity | Duration (per session) | Other description |
| Bartels 2007 | Not reported | Not reported | "Muscle maintenance" and "range of motion" | Not reported | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Actual intervention only reported by 2 of 6 included studies. |
| Bidonde 2014 | 17 wk (range 4 to 32) | 1 to 4/wk | Very light (< 57% HRmax) to vigorous (95% HRmax), self‐selected, and not specified | 45 minutes (range 30 to 70) | No minimum requirement for inclusion. None of the studies met the ACSM exercise guidelines specified for aerobic or strength training. Only 1 study met the ACSM guidelines for flexibility training. |
| Boldt 2014 | 12 wk to 9 months | 2/day to 2/wk | Not reported | Reported for 1 study only (90 to 120 minutes) | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Stretching and strengthening exercises aimed at mobilising painful shoulder joint. |
| Brown 2010 | ≥ 12 wk | 3/wk | 70% to 85% HRR | 1 hour | No minimum requirement for inclusion. |
| Busch 2007 | 3 wk to 6 months | 1 to 5/wk | Not reported | Not reported | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Assessed as whether they "met ACSM recommendations." |
| Busch 2013 | 8 to 21 wk (median 16 wk) | ≥ 2/wk | > 4/10 RPE rating progressing to 70% to 80% 1RM | 40 to 90 minutes | Assessed as whether they "met ACSM recommendations." |
| Cramp 2013 | 6 wk (when reported) | 2/wk | "Low impact", "moderate", and 70% HRmax | 1 to 1.5 hours, when reported | No minimum requirement for inclusion. |
| Fransen 2014 | 6 to 12 wk (median 8) | 1 to 3/wk | "Low intensity" to "max effort" | 30 to 60 minutes | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Intensity only reported in 2 of 10 studies. |
| Fransen 2015 | single session to 30 months | 1 to 5/wk | "Moderate to moderately high intensity" | 15 to 60 minutes | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Varied in dose and duration. |
| Gross 2015a | 2 wk to 3 months | 5/wk to every 15 minutes/day | Low intensity | 2 to 20 minutes | ‐ |
| Han 2004 | 8 to 10 wk (when reported) | 1 to 7/wk (median 1/wk) | Tai chi = low intensity | 1 to 1.5 hours | No minimum requirement for inclusion. |
| Hayden 2005 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Could not extract actual data. |
| Hurkmans 2009 | ≥ 6 wk | 2/wk | Aerobic: ≥ 55% HRmax increasing to 85% HRmax strength: start 30% 1RM increasing to 80% 1RM | 20 minutes | ‐ |
| Koopman 2015 | 4 to 12 wk | Daily to 3/wk | Reported in 1 study: 50% to 70% MVC | 45 minutes | No minimum requirement for inclusion. 1 study: supervised progressive resistance training consisting of 3 sets of 8 isometric contractions of the thumb muscles. 1 study: combination of individual and group therapy with daily treatment in a swimming pool (45 minutes), physiotherapy, individually adapted training programme. |
| Lane 2014 | 3 to 12 months | ≥ 2/wk | "Variable" | ˜ 60 minutes | No minimum requirement for inclusion. |
| Lauret 2014 | ≥ 6 wk | ≥ 2/wk | Not reported | Not reported | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Must be supervised. |
| Regnaux 2015 | 8 wk | 3/wk | Compared high vs low intensity vs control | 30 to 50 minutes | Every 2 wk 1RM was retested and increased by 5% as tolerated in each group. Supervision: an experienced therapist. 3 arms (n=34 per arm): high intensity, low intensity, control (no exercise). |
| Saragiotto 2016 | 20 days to 12 wk (median 8 wk (IQR 2.0)) | 1 to 5/wk (median 12 sessions (IQR 6.0)) | Not reported | 20 to 90 minutes (median 45 (IQR 30) minutes) | MCE is usually delivered in 1:1 supervised treatment sessions, and sometimes involves ultrasound imaging, the use of pressure biofeedback units or palpation to provide feedback on the activation of trunk muscles. |
| Silva 2010 | ≥ 6 wk | 2/wk | Balance training only | ≥ 30 minutes | No studies found. |
| van der Heijden 2015 | 3 to 16 wk | 2/wk to daily | Not reported | Not reported | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Assessed by duration (< or > 3 months), frequency (several times, or once a week), medium (land or water), etc. |
| Yamato 2015 | 10 to 90 days (mostly 8 wk) | 2/wk (mean session number 15.3, range 6 to 30) | Not reported | 1 hour | No minimum requirement for inclusion. Must be supervised (for the Pilates technique). |
1RM: one repetition maximum; ACSM: American College of Sport Medicine; HRmax: maximum heart rate; HRR: heart rate reserve, IQR: interquartile range; MCE: motor control exercise; MVC: maximum voluntary contraction; RPE: rating of perceived exertion; wk: week.