Does Additional Dietary Supplementation Improve Physiotherapeutic Treatment Outcome in Tendinopathy? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Qiu F
Published in Journal of Clinical Medicine
Methodology
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (PROSPERO CRD42021291951) searching PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Embase from inception to November 2021; eligible studies combined physiotherapeutic treatment with dietary supplementation and reported pain and/or function; standardised mean differences pooled in Review Manager with subgroup analysis.
Key Findings
This meta-analysis pooled six randomised controlled trials testing whether adding dietary supplements to physiotherapy improves tendinopathy outcomes. Supplementation alongside physiotherapy significantly improved pain reduction (SMD -0.74, 95% CI -1.37 to -0.10, p < 0.05) compared with physiotherapy alone. However, it produced no significant improvement in functional outcomes. Subgroup analysis explored which study characteristics were linked to effectiveness.
Conclusions
Additional dietary supplementation during physiotherapeutic treatment significantly improved the reduction in pain score, while it had no effect on functional outcomes.
Limitations
Only six trials were eligible, the supplements tested differed from one another, and the pain benefit has a wide confidence interval nearly touching no effect; function, arguably the outcome that matters most in tendon injury, did not improve.
Related Health Concerns
Study Details
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This information is for educational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any supplement regimen.