Abstract
Introduction Gluteal tendinopathy (GT) is a common source of hip pain with reported pain, function, quality of life being equivalent to end stage hip osteoarthritis. This systematic review aims to clarify the best management for people with GT.
Materials and Methods 9 electronic databases and the grey literature were searched from inception to March 2021. High-quality, randomised controlled trials of any intervention for GT were included. The PEDro scale was used for quality assessment, with risk of bias assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2.0.
Results Meta-analysis of four studies of exercise and education (EDX) for pain and function demonstrated that EDX has a large effect on pain outcomes in the short term (SMD 0.95, 95% CI 0.58, 1.33), medium effect in the medium term (SMD 0.60, 95% CI -0.21, 0.96) and a small effect on in the long term (SMD 0.46, 95% CI 0.10, 0.81). EDX has a large effect on functional outcomes in the short term (SMD 0.91, 95% CI 0.53, 1.28), medium effect in the medium term (SMD 0.79, 95% CI 0.42, 1.16) and a small effect in the long term (SMD 0.41, 95% CI 0.05, 0.76).
Conclusion Education and exercise has a positive impact on pain levels and function at every time point. Education and exercise interventions should form part of GT management.
