Physiotherapy for musculoskeletal shoulder pain: baseline assessment and patient characteristics associated with patient expectation of recovery

Purpose: Previous research has shown that for patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) shoulder pain, an optimistic patient expectation of recovery as a result of physiotherapy is associated with better patient rated outcomes. However, it is unknown what patient characteristics and baseline measures are associated with patient expectation of recovery. An understanding of these factors may help (1) identify modifiable targets for treatment and (2) guide future research to investigate if facilitating a more optimistic patient expectation as part of treatment leads to a better outcome.