The Role of Patient Recovery Expectations in the Outcomes of Physical Therapist Intervention: A Systematic Review

Recovery expectations are defined as a person’s individual beliefs that a certain future state will come into being regarding a health treatment [1] [2]. Patient recovery expectations can play a crucial role in the success of physical therapist interventions [3] [4] [5]. Prior studies have identified a link between patient expectations and therapy outcomes [4] [6] [7] [8]. The evidence for this is still limited and somewhat contradictory in physical therapy. Previous studies have mainly focused on musculoskeletal disorders [9] [10] [11], while other clinical areas have been studied less extensively [12]. In addi…