i think the confusion arises because of misused terms.

strut is used to describe the coilover system used on the front of most cars (used on front and back of our cars). It is esentially a shock absorber with a plate about half way down that provides a base to mount your spring on,thus giving you a coilover....so coilover =strut.

shock is usually just used to describe the shock absorber itself,when used in a system such as is common in the rear of utes where the shock absorber sits by itself and leaf springs are used,the springs are nowhere near the shock like it is in a coilover system.

i know,it can be confusing with everyone throwing round different words when you havnt actually seen all the items in real life