ArticleMusculoskeletal science & practice2020
Safety netting; best practice in the face of uncertainty.
Article in Musculoskeletal science & practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploration of Physiotherapists' Understanding and Application of Safety Netting Procedures in France-A Qualitative Study.Musculoskeletal care · 2026Article
- Article
- Physiotherapy for the Management of Polymyalgia Rheumatica: Results From a UK Cross-Sectional Survey.Musculoskeletal care · 2025Article
- Understanding degenerative cervical myelopathy in musculoskeletal practice.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Review
- Confidence in providing primary care to patients with low back pain among physiotherapists.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Exploring physiotherapist's ability to identify cauda equina syndrome early.Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) · 2025Article
- Enhancing Clinical Confidence: Effects of Medical Screening and Differential Diagnosis Training for Low Back Pain.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Article
- The perception of individuals with low back pain regarding reassuring information: Insights based on physiotherapists messages.PloS one · 2025Article
- Sailing Too Close to the Wind? How Harnessing Patient Voice Can Identify Drift towards Boundaries of Acceptable Performance.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Optimising GPs' communication of advice to facilitate patients' self-care and prompt follow-up when the diagnosis is uncertain: a realist review of 'safety-netting' in primary care.BMJ quality & safety · 2022Review
- Socioeconomic differences in help seeking for colorectal cancer symptoms during COVID-19: a UK-wide qualitative interview study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022Article
- Patient, clinician and manager experience of the accelerated implementation of virtual consultations following COVID-19: A qualitative study of preferences in a tertiary orthopaedic rehabilitation setting.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Article
- A telephone assessment and advice service within an ED physiotherapy clinic: a single-site quality improvement cohort study.Archives of physiotherapy · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Safety netting is a recognised General Practitioner (GP) diagnostic strategy often used in the face of uncertainty to help ensure that a patient with unresolved or worsening symptoms knows when and how to access further advice. It is an important way of reducing clinical risk. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid move to mainly remote consultations within the musculoskeletal field, safety netting is an important strategy to embed within all consultations. Only those presenting with potentially serious conditions are offered face to face consultations. Screening for Red Flags and any indication of a serious cause of symptoms is always first line in any consultation, however, clinical presentations are not always black and white with patients falling into a clear diagnostic category. With patients minds more focussed on COVID-19 symptoms this can be problematic. With the additional ramifications of public health social restrictions, onward management can be a conundrum. Many people with risk factors of serious pathology are also as a consequence, vulnerable to contracting COVID-19. In situations of uncertain clinical presentations, to avoid unnecessary social contact, safety netting can help to monitor symptoms over time until the clinical context becomes more certain. Embedding safety netting within physiotherapy best practice could be a silver lining in this pandemic black cloud.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.