CliniPD  /  Library  /  Evidence standard

How we select and reference

Every page in the library is written to the same evidence rules. These are them, in full, so you can judge the content rather than trust it.

Free · no account needed

What gets in

Randomised trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and clinical practice guidelines from indexed journals. Case reports and narrative reviews only where nothing better exists — and labelled as such on the page.

How claims are tied to sources

Every substantive statement carries a numbered reference. If a figure cannot be traced to a source it does not go on the page: it is flagged and held back until it can be.

How ageing is handled

Each page shows its newest source year. Where the best available evidence is more than seven years old, the page says so in a banner rather than quietly presenting it as current.

Review cycle

Every page is re-checked on a 24-month cycle, with the review date and reviewer initials shown. A page that is overdue is marked overdue, not hidden.

Where evidence doesn't exist

Plenty of what physiotherapists do has never been tested properly. Where that is true the page says so, instead of inventing a number or implying more certainty than there is.

What we never do

No copied wording, tables or figures from source papers — data is restated and redrawn with citation. No copyrighted outcome-measure instruments reproduced without licence.

Found something wrong?

Errors in clinical content matter more than almost anything else here. If a figure looks wrong, tell us and it gets checked.

Report a correction
The template

Seventeen sections.
Every single page.

Once you know where something lives, you know it on every page in the library.

01Definition & terminologyWhat it is, and what it is no longer called
02EpidemiologyWho gets it, how often, in which populations
03PathophysiologyMechanism, with the uncertainty stated honestly
04Subjective assessmentThe history that changes your hypothesis
05Objective assessmentWhat to test, in what order, and why
06Special tests & accuracySensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios
07Differential diagnosisWhat else this is, and how to tell
08Red flagsWhat must not be missed, and the action
09Outcome measuresWith MCID and MDC, not just a name
10Management overviewWhat the evidence supports, graded
11Exercise prescriptionActual sets, reps, load and progression
12Adjunct therapiesIncluding the ones that do not work
13Return to sport / functionCriteria, not timelines
14PrognosisWhat to tell the patient on day one
15Patient educationLanguage that survives the car park
16Key papersThe handful worth actually reading
17ReferencesEvery claim above, traced