ArticleBMC rheumatology2025
Does osteoarthritis physiotherapy research in South Korea align with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines: a systematic review of English and Korean literature.
Article in BMC rheumatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Implementation research on osteoarthritis in Asia: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of lower limb disability worldwide, imposing significant socioeconomic and personal burden. Thus, many internationally recognised organisations have developed management guidelines for this condition. Among these, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends four first-line approaches to osteoarthritis management: education, exercise, self-management, and weight management. Despite the development of guidelines, adherence to OA management recommendations appears to be suboptimal internationally, and little is known about guideline adherence in South Korea. This study aimed to explore whether research-based physiotherapy interventions for OA in South Korea align with the NICE guidelines.
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted across multiple Korean and English electronic databases, including the Korea Citation Index (KCI), Korean Studies Information Service System (KISS), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus SCOPUS, and Google Scholar. Twelve randomized controlled trials conducted in South Korea met the inclusion criteria, with sample sizes ranging from 20 to 60 participants. Participants' mean age ranged from 57 to 75 years, and their Body Mass Index (BMI) varied from 23.00 to 25.68 kg/m². The primary outcome measure was the alignment of interventions with NICE OA guidelines, assessed using a scoring system (0-2 points per study) developed specifically for this review. Additionally, the methodological quality of included studies was evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale.
resultsMost studies had poor methodological quality (PEdro scale range: 3-5). Only 42% of the Korean studies aligned with the NICE OA recommendations. Commonly applied interventions were predominantly passive, such as heat therapy, electrotherapy, and kinesiology taping, none of which are recommended by NICE.
conclusionsA discrepancy was found between research-based physiotherapy interventions for osteoarthritis in South Korea and the therapeutic approaches recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Factors such as a lack of evidence-based education, research, healthcare funding in South Korea, and cultural health experiences and expectations of the patients may have contributed to these findings. These results could help develop new strategies for improving osteoarthritis management in South Korea.
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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.