JOSPT Insights

Over the past decade, the term rotator cuff–related shoulder pain (RCRSP) has gained traction as a more accurate, patient-centered way to describe shoulder pain. In this episode, Dr Amy McDevitt (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, University of Colorado) joins Dan Chapman and Marquis Sanabrais to unpack why shifting from structural labels like impingement or tendinopathy toward RCRSP...

Some of the most powerful drivers of change in musculoskeletal rehabilitation aren’t researchers or administrators—but clinicians working shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers. These so-called "local opinion leaders" often shape practice more effectively than top-down mandates or distant guidelines. And they're more than simply influencers or savvy social media marketers. In today's episode, Dr Se...

Pain near the posteromedial tibia is common in running and jumping athletes. Laura Anderson, physiotherapist and PhD candidate, is challenging the diagnostic labels "shin splits" and "medial tibial stress syndrome", and suggesting a new term: "load-induced medial leg pain" (LIMP). In today's episode, Laura explores ways to improve how you diagnose and manage shin pain in athletes, including how yo...

Over half of performing artists and artistic athletes report pelvic floor symptoms. Up to 80% of female artistic athletes report pelvic floor symptoms, yet many believe these issues—like urinary leakage during performance—are par for the course, part of the job. Today, Jessica Frydenberg explains who performing artists are, why they are particularly susceptible to pelvic floor symptoms, and what t...

Who pays you, and how, for your work as a physical therapist? How health care is funded has implications for the way you work, and for the care that you can provide for patients. Societies all around the world are grappling with complex decisions about health care and how it is funded. Even more so as changing populations place different demands on health care systems, and as the health work force...

Welcome back to this explainer on health economics analyses in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. In part 1, Dr Codie Primeau explained the things you're looking for when reading a health economics analysis, to decide whether it's a good quality analysis. That's important because a good quality analysis can help you make decisions about whether the intervention being studied is worth considering. Tod...

Whether you work in a solo private practice, or a large health network, no doubt you're considering costs when it comes to deciding what to change and perhaps what to implement - or de-implement - in your practice. Perhaps you're in the position of making decisions on behalf of a health service or you are trying to quantify and communicate the costs and benefits of treatments you study in a resear...

Wondering about whether large language models (generative AI) like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot or Claude, to name just a few, could add value to your clinical practice? Drs Mark Vorensky and Daniel Peredo (Rutgers University; NYU Langone Health) discuss the field of 'prompt engineering' - the approach to structuring and crafting the instructions (a.k.a. prompt) given to a generative AI model, to describe th...

How do you think about supporting athletes to return to running after injury? Andrew Mitchell is someone who has thought about it a lot, and refined his approach over years of practice in top football/soccer. In today's episode, Andrew outlines the 5 elements of his criteria-based approach. Andrew is a sports physiotherapist and strength & conditioning practitioner with experience working in the h...

What's the latest thinking in managing patellofemoral pain? Drs Erin Macri (Erasmus MC University Medical Centre, The Netherlands) and Harvi Hart (Michigan State University) join JOSPT Insights ahead of the International Patellofemoral Research Network meeting to share the latest in patellofemoral research, and what it means for clinical practice. ------------------------------ RESOURCES JOSPT Ins...

Recurrent back pain is common, and debilitating for some people. What if there was a simple, low cost way to prevent these recurring flare ups of back pain? Dr Tash Pocovi (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia) explains the research she's been leading to test a walking + education program for preventing recurrent back pain. Dr Pocovi's research focuses on improving how low back pain is managed,...

The latest update to the midportion Achilles tendinopathy Clinical Practice Guideline is live! Dr Ruth Chimenti is a co-author of the updated clinical practice guideline, “Achilles Pain, Stiffness, and Muscle Power Deficits: Midportion Achilles Tendinopathy Revision 2024”, and joins JOSPT Insights to share the key updates relevant for your practice. Dr Chimenti highlights the most important change...

The anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and the Achilles tendon captures much of our ankle attention. As JOSPT Insights listeners know, there's plenty more to the ankle than the ATFL. Today, Liz Bayley shares her approach to diagnosing, managing and ideally, preventing ankle pain in active people. Liz covers diagnosing the problem, where imaging fits, and how to support return to function, includ...

Clinicians appreciate the value of a trustworthy clinical practice guideline for helping guide decisions in practice. Professor François Desmeules (University of Montréal) led an international team of shoulder experts who synthesised the latest evidence on diagnosing and non-surgically managing rotator cuff tendinopathy. Today he shares the headlines of the CPG and explains how the guideline group...

Today, we continue the conversation on the latest consensus for managing acute and degenerative meniscus tears. We jump into non-surgical treatment, and all the return to sport considerations for athletes and active people with meniscus injury. Dr Arielle Giordano (University of Delaware) shares the results of the EU-US Meniscus Rehabilitation Consensus. ------------------------------ RESOURCES EU...

Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are an incredible resource for clinicians of all experience levels—synthesizing all the research on a topic and packaging it into bite-sized recommendations and flow charts. But how often are clinicians adhering to these guidelines? In today’s episode, Dr Maggie Horn (Duke University) walks us through her research team’s work to assess if, how, and when clinicia...

No doubt you've come across people using the analogy of a broken down machine to describe an osteoarthritic joint. Or perhaps that too much loading on the joint is responsible for wearing it out - assuming that each joint has a finite number of movements in its lifetime. You've probably also heard from patients who are concerned that the exercise therapy you prescribe might do more harm to their a...

Today is part 2 of a 2-part chat about hip health and training load for the youth athlete. Last episode, Dr Sara Lyn Terrell (Florida Southern College) discussed the developing hip, and the important distinction between primary cam morphology and femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. Many athletes have a bony bump on their hip that doesn't cause any problems - it's the morphology in combination w...

The hip health of youth athletes as their skeletons grow and mature while the athlete copes with the physical and mental stressors of sport and life, has been receiving renewed attention. Today's episode of JOSPT Insights is part 1 of a 2-part chat about training load and the youth athlete's hip. We discuss how primary cam morphology and femoroacetabular impingement syndrome might develop. Dr Sara...

Patellofemoral pain can affect anyone at any age, which mean you're likely to come across it in your clinical career. What is best practice in managing patellofemoral pain? Today, Dr Brad Neal (Queen Mary University of London) walks us through how to apply the best research to your practice. Dr Neal has worked for over a decade in elite sport, private and public health care settings as a specialis...

Pain is often what prompts patients to seek the care of a musculoskeletal rehabilitation clinician. In today's episode, Dr Paul Mintken guides listeners through different ways to work with a person to help make sense of, and explain, unexplained pain. Dr Mintken (Hawai'i Pacific University) is a board-certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic and...

In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr Olivia Abdoo (Ultimate Fighting Championship), we dive deeper into one of the most common injuries in mixed martial arts (MMA) - concussion. Dr Abdoo's experience treating UFC athletes provides an insight into working with athletes for whom skills including wrestling, striking, and grappling are crucial to performing well. How to approach educating the athlete...

Given how common rotator cuff tears are, chances are you will work with someone who has a tear at some point in your career. Do you know what patients will want from their rehabilitation? Are you confident with your approach to managing rotator cuff tears? Today, Dr Kathryn Fahy, physiotherapist and researcher from Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha discusses the CALMeR Cuff path...

A mention of pre-professional or professional dance might conjure thoughts of relentless, gruelling training hours, incredible performances and bodies pushed through high musculoskeletal demands. Dr Melanie Fuller (University of Southern Queensland) has devoted her clinical career of almost 20 years to working with dancers - helping them stay healthy and performing well - and she has a similar foc...

Tune in today for the latest consensus on rehabilitation approaches for people who have had meniscus surgery. Orthopaedic surgeons and physical therapists from Europe and the US debated the best research evidence, and brought extensive clinical experience to the table, ultimately producing a 2-part series of summary papers. Dr Arielle Giordano (University of Delaware) was one of the physical thera...