ICON 2020—International Scientific Tendinopathy Symposium Consensus: A Scoping Review of Psychological and Psychosocial Constructs and Outcome Measures Reported in Tendinopathy Clinical Trials

Objective To identify and describe the psychological and psychosocial constructs and outcome measures used in tendinopathy research. Design Scoping review. Literature Search We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, PEDro, CINAHL, and APA PsychNet databases on July 10, 2021, for all published studies of tendinopathy populations measuring psychological and psychosocial factors. Study Selection Studies using a clinical diagnosis of tendinopathy or synonyms (eg, jumper's knee or subacromial impingement) with or without imaging confirmation. Data Synthesis We described the volume, nature, distribution, and characteristics of psychological and psychosocial outcomes reported in the tendinopathy field. Results Twenty-nine constructs were identified, including 16 psychological and 13 psychosocial constructs. The most frequently-reported constructs were work-related outcomes (32%), quality of life (31%), depression (30%), anxiety (18%), and fear (14%). Outcome measures consisted of validated and nonvalidated questionnaires and 1-item custom questions (including demographics). The number of different outcome measures used to assess an individual construct ranged between 1 (emotional distress) and 11 (quality of life) per construct. Conclusion There was a large variability in constructs and outcome measures reported in tendinopathy research, which limits conclusions about the relationship between psychological and psychosocial constructs, outcome measures, and tendinopathies. Given the wide range of psychological and psychosocial constructs reported, there is an urgent need to develop a core outcome set in tendinopathy.