Short summary of interventions delivered in the included randomised controlled trial studies
| Physiotherapy intervention | Comparator intervention | |
| Prescribed physiotherapy vs operative treatment | ||
| Griffin et al 69 | 6–10 physiotherapy sessions over 12–24 weeks. Content: education, assessment, analgesics and exercise-based hip programme (muscle control/stability, strengthening, stretching)+optional components. | Arthroscopic hip surgery (routine practice) including treatment of shape abnormalities, labral and cartilage pathology and postoperative rehabilitation (usual care). |
| Mansell et al 70 | 12 physiotherapy sessions over 6 weeks. Content: joint mobilisations, soft tissue mobility, stretching, therapeutic and motor control exercises. | Arthroscopic hip surgery including acetabuloplasty, labral repair/debridement and femoroplasty as indicated by surgeon’s judgement and 6 months postoperative physical therapy. |
| Palmer et al 129 | Up to 8 physiotherapy sessions over 5 months. Content: advice, goal-based and individually tailored programme focused on muscle strengthening, core stability and movement control. | Standardised arthroscopic hip surgery including osteochodroplasty, labral repair or debridement, cartilage lesion debridement and optional microfracture and postoperative physiotherapy (routine care). |
| Martin et al 81 | At least 24 physiotherapy sessions over 24 weeks. Content: gait training, range of motion training, strength training, patient education, manual therapy, hydrotherapy, home exercise programme, functional strengthening, proprioception and balance training. | Arthroscopic hip surgery including acetabular labral repair, femoroacetabular osteoplasty and 24 weeks of postoperative physiotherapy. |
| Prescribed physiotherapy vs passive modalities, stretching and/or advice | ||
| Smeatham et al 77 | Routine care+up to 10 physiotherapy sessions. Content: manual therapy, exercise-based rehabilitation and gym-based group sessions. | Routine care. |
| Kemp et al 75 | Eight physiotherapy (30 min) sessions+one supervised gym session (30 min)+2 weekly unsupervised exercise sessions over 12 weeks. Content: hip joint manual therapy, hip and trunk muscle strengthening, functional activity-specific retraining and education. | Eight physiotherapy (30 min) sessions+one supervised gym session (30 min)+2 weekly unsupervised exercise session over 12 weeks. Content: hip joint manual therapy, muscle stretching and health education. |
| Harris-Hayes et al 73 | Six physiotherapy (60 min) sessions and daily home exercises over 6 weeks. Content: Task-specific training of basic functional tasks and patient-specific symptom provoking tasks, hip muscle strengthening. | 6 week waiting period on wait list. |
| Comparison between different physiotherapy interventions | ||
| Aoyama et al 74 | One education session+8 weeks daily home training (20 min) including hip muscle training and trunk stabilisation training. | One education session+8 weeks daily home training (20 min) including hip muscle training. |
| Harris-Hayes et al 22 | Ten physiotherapy (60 min) sessions and daily home exercises over 12 weeks. Content: task-specific training of basic functional tasks and patient-specific symptom provoking tasks, hip muscle strengthening. | Ten physiotherapy (60 min) sessions and daily home exercises over 12 weeks. Content: lower extremity and trunk strengthening, lower extremity flexibility. |
| Wright et al 72 | Twelve physiotherapy (60 min) sessions+home exercise programme over 6 weeks. Content: manual therapy, strengthening, stretching and neuromuscular/motor control exercises. | Advice, activity modification and a booklet with 6 exercises addressing hip strength and flexibility. |
| Prescribed post-operative physiotherapy vs advice | ||
| Kemp et al 76 | Eight physiotherapy (30 min) sessions+home exercises 4xweek over 12 weeks. Content: manual hip joint and soft tissue mobilisation, hip muscle retraining, trunk muscle retraining, functional, proprioceptive and sport-specific or activity-specific retraining, enhancing physical activity, education and exercise manual. | Eight physiotherapy (30 min) sessions over 12 weeks. Content: education, advice, education information sheets. |
| Bennell et al 78 | Standard postoperative care+7 physiotherapy (30 min) sessions. Content: education, manual therapy, deep hip rotator muscle strengthening, stretches, gym and aquatic programme and return to sport guidance. | Standard postoperative care+in-patient physiotherapy for gait aid+written education material+requested to not undertake formal rehabilitation programme. |
| Preoperative physiotherapy vs massage therapy | ||
| Grant et al 79 | Two preoperative physiotherapy (60 min) sessions over 8 weeks+3 postoperative sessions over 12 weeks. First session content: instruction on daily home exercises and stretches, exercise booklet diary. Second to fifth session content: education, advice, postoperative exercises massage, hydrotherapy and gait re-training. | Two preoperative physiotherapy (60 min) sessions over 8 weeks+3 postoperative sessions over 12 weeks. First session included massage therapy. The remaining 4 sessions matched the intervention group. |
Physiotherapy sessions are one-to-one/face-to-face otherwise it is noted.