Table 1.

Methodological characteristics of included studies

First author— tendinopathy	Study type	Randomisation method	Blinding method	Allocation concealment	Statistical power calculation	Baseline comparison	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria	Follow-up completion
Brox36— Shoulder	Randomised controlled trial	Random permuted blocks	Patients wearing t-shirts at follow-up to hide scar; patients asked not to talk to assessor about treatment	–	Yes, 90%	Less women in surgery group	Age 18–66 y, shoulder pain for >3 m, resistant to physio and drugs, dysfunction/pain on abduction, normal passive ROM, pain during two of the three isometric-eccentric tests, positive impingement tests	Acromioclavicular joint arthritis, cervical syndrome, rotator cuff rupture, glenohumeral instability, bilateral muscular pain with tenderness and severely decreased ability to relax the shoulder/neck/temporomandibular joint on examination, reluctant to accept one or more of the treatment regimens of the study	99%
Rahme37 —Shoulder	Randomised controlled trial	Blocked randomisation	Independent assessor	–	No	No comparison	Isolated shoulder disease, working age, shoulder pain >1 y at rest accentuated by movements involving elevation, positive Hawkins (impingement) sign, positive impingement test (relief of symptoms within 15 min of injection of local anaesthetic)	Glenohumeral osteoarthritis, those requiring resection of the lateral end of the clavicle	93%
Rompe30— Shoulder	Randomised trial (non-controlled)	Based on whether reimbursement for ESWT was approved by insurance company	Not blinded	–	–	No differences	Calcareous deposit on standard AP radiographs of a diameter of at least 10 mm; the morphological features of the deposit had to be homogeneous in appearance and with well-defined borders, or inhomogeneous in structure with sharp outline or homogeneous in structure with no defined border, shoulder pain for more than 12 m, clinical signs of subacromial impingement, unsuccessful conservative therapy in the previous 6 m, no evidence of bone-related anatomic outlet impingement or functional outlet impingement as seen on radiographs or MRI	Cloudy and transparent appearance of deposit, radiological signs of spontaneous resorption, evidence of type III acromial morphological feature according to Bigliani et al on the outlet view of the acromion, evidence of subacute acromial bursitis, evidence of acromial spur or acromioclavicular osteophytes on AP radiographs, evidence of rotator cuff tears on MRI, evidence of functional impingement of rotator cuff on USS or arthroMRI, tears of the glenohumeral ligaments of the labrum, hypertrophy of supraspinatus muscle, dysfunction in neck or thoracic region, prior shoulder surgery, local degenerative disease of shoulder, RA, neurological abnormalities of the upper limb with calcifying tendinitis, pregnancy, infection, tumour	75%
Haahr35— Shoulder	Randomised controlled trial	Computer-generated random sequence generation	Not blinded	Sealed envelopes	Yes, 80%	More sick leave due to more severe shoulder pain in surgery group	Fulfilment of all diagnostic criteria (shoulder pain, pain on abduction with painful arc, Hawkins sign, positive impingement test (relief of symptoms within 15 min of injection of local anaesthetic), symptoms 6 m–-3 y, age 18–55 y, normal passive glenohumeeal movements	Impaired glenohumeral rotation, history of acute trauma, previous surgery of fracture near affected shoulder, known OA in glenohumeral or acromioclavicular joint, clacifications >2 cm in rotator cuff tendons, rupture of the cuff, cervical root syndromes	93%
Ketola29 — Shoulder	Randomised controlled trial	Computer-generated numbers	Independent physiotherapist conducted 5-year assessment; participants wearing t-shirts to cover scars and asked not to indicate treatment group	Randomisation by independent statistician; sealed envelopes	Yes, 80%	No difference in outcome measures, no comparison of demographics	Clinical symptoms of shoulder impingement, positive Neer’s test, symptoms for at least 3 m, failed management with rest, NSAIDs, steroid injections and regular physiotherapy, age 18–60 y, no previous shoulder operations, willingness and capacity to comply with study protocol	OA, glenohumeral instability, penetrating rotator cuff rupture, cervical radiculopathy, adhesive capsulitis, shoulder neuropathy	78%
Farfaras28—Shoulder	Randomised controlled trial	Envelopes divided in boxes based on sex and age	Independent physiotherapist conducted assessment; participants encouraged to wear a t-shirt at follow-up to conceal their scar	–	Yes, sample size not enough for 80% power	No difference	Positive Neer and Hawkins tests, failed conservative management, subacromial pain for more than 6 m	Diabetes mellitus, neurological or spine disorders, radiographic OA, chronic joint disorders, full-thickness rotator cuff tear, subacromial impingement syndrome stage 3	63%
Beard34— Shoulder	Randomised controlled trial	Automated computer-generated minimisation system	Double blinded except ‘no treatment’ group; masked assessment	Centralised telephone randomisation centre used	Yes, 90%	No difference	Subacromial pain for at least 3 m, consultant’s clinical diagnosis, eligible for arthroscopic surgery, completion of conservative management programme including physiotherapy and at least one steroid injection	Full-thickness rotator cuff tear, other shoulder pathology identified on MRI or USS, previous shoulder surgery on affected side, RA or other inflammatory joint conditions, cervical spine pathology, previous septic arthritis in shoulder, radiotherapy in same side as affected shoulder, lacking consent, cognitive impairment or language issues, unable to perform clinical assessments, >75 y of age	81%
Bahr27— Patella	Randomised controlled trial	Randomisation sequence in blocks of four created by statistician; those who had failed eccentric strengthening were allocated to secondary surgery group	Not blinded	Sealed envelopes; randomisation sequence created by statistician	Yes, 90%	No differences	History of exercise-related pain in proximal patellar tendon or patellar insertion and tenderness to palpation, pain during and after activity and unable to participate in sports at same level as before onset of pain, thickening and increased signal intensity on MRI	History of knee/patellar tendon surgery, inflammatory or degenerative joint condition, less than 18 y of age, inability to understand oral and written Norwegian	88%
Alfredson33— Achilles	Randomised trial (non-controlled)	Box with envelopes	Not blinded	Opaque envelopes	No	No comparison as information not provided	–	–	95%
Radwan31— Lateral elbow	Randomised trial (non-controlled)	Closed envelopes	Not blinded	Closed envelopes	Yes, 80%	Characteristics of two groups presented but comparison not performed	Established diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis with failure of conservative Tx for 6 m (NSAIDs, steroid injections, physical therapy, exercise programme, elbow brace) Pain induced by >1 of palpation of lateral epicondyle, resisted wrist extension, chair test	Younger than 18 y, local infection, malignancy, elbow arthritis, generalised polyarthritis, ipsilateral shoulder dysfunction, neurological abnormalities, radial nerve entrapment, cardiac arrhythmia, pacemaker, steroid injection last 6 w, pregnancy	89%
Kroslak22— Lateral elbow	Randomised controlled trial	Computer-generated code	Double blinded	Sealed, unmarked envelopes	Yes, 90% but not enough participant recruited		>18 y of age, clinical diagnosis lateral epicondylitis (point tenderness over lateral epicondyle and worse pain with chair pick-up test and maximal hand grip), failed conservative therapy for 6 m (including injections)	Previous surgery or dislocation of affected elbow, steroid injection in last 3 m, inadequate skin coverage over elbow, sensory/motor changes distal to elbow, unwillingness/inability to attend follow-up or enter either treatment arm	85% (42% for clinical assessment)

AP, antero-posterior;ESWT, extracorporeal shock wave therapy;m, months; MRI; magnetic resonance imaging; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;OA, osteoarthritis;RA, rheumatoid arthritis;ROM, range of movement;USS, ultrasound scan;w, weeks;y, years.