A total of 110 studies were included in meta-analyses that included 148 treatment arms (TAs) of 3953 participants.

Reporting was done on five tendinopathy locations:

Rotator cuff: 48 TAs

Achilles: 43 TAs

Lateral elbow: 29 TAs

Patellar: 24 TAs

Gluteal: 4 TAs

Meta-regressions provided consistent evidence of greater pooled mean effect sizes for higher intensity therapies comprising additional external resistance compared with body mass only (large effect size domains: β _{BodyMass: External} = 0.50 (95% credible interval (CrI): 0.15 to 0.84; p=0.998); small effect size domains (β _{BodyMass: External} = 0.04 (95% CrI: -0.21 to 0.31; p=0.619)) when combined across tendinopathy locations or analysed separately.

Greater pooled mean effect sizes were also identified for the lowest frequency (less than daily) compared with mid (daily) and high frequencies (more than once per day) for both effect size domains when combined or analysed separately (p≥0.976). Evidence for associations between training volume and pooled mean effect sizes was minimal and inconsistent.

To summarize it was concluded that Resistance exercise dose is poorly reported within tendinopathy management literature. However, this large meta-analysis identified some consistent patterns indicating greater efficacy on average with therapies prescribing higher intensities (through inclusion of additional loads) and lower frequencies, potentially creating stronger stimuli and facilitating adequate recovery.

Data sources: Including but not limited to: MEDLINE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, ClinicalTrials.gov and ISRCTN Registry.