15 years of tracking physiotherapy evidence on PEDro, where are we now?

BACKGROUND Healthcare systems across the globe have begun the transition to evidence-based practice. The degree to which the transition has occurred can be debated but, it is underpinned by a large and rapidly growing volume of research. However, this research is only useful if it is reliable, comprehensive and accessible. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro; http://www.pedro.org.au) recently celebrated 15 years of existence. PEDro is a free resource that indexes published randomised controlled trials (RCT), systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines relevant to physiotherapy. The first physiotherapy RCT was published in 1929 and the first physiotherapy systematic review in 1982. Since then there has been exponential growth in the number of published RCTs and systematic reviews relevant to physiotherapy (figure 1). This editorial reflects on what PEDro tells us about the evidence base for physiotherapy and sports physiotherapy in particular.