JOSPT Insights

Over the past decade, the way clinicians and researchers understand patellofemoral pain—what causes it and how to manage it—has evolved from a focus on the biomechanics of joint alignment and posture to embracing a more rounded biopsychosocial model of musculoskeletal pain. Tune in as Professors Bill Vicenzino and Michael Rathleff share the results of the recent consensus they led to establish the...

The words of the Irish poet and Nobel Prize laureate Seamus Heaney frame the key message for today’s episode: “If you have the words, there’s always a chance that you’ll find the way.” Dr Lindsey Plass draws on her own experience managing femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, as well as a decade of clinical experience, to share her top tips for communicating and supporting patients with musculosk...

Despite the excellent benefits of knee replacement surgery for reducing pain and improving knee function, people are just as physically inactive after surgery as they were before. If it's not an issue of knee symptoms and function, then what's going on? Dr Daniel White, physical activity and osteoarthritis (OA) expert from the University of Delaware explains 3 common myths about physical activity...

Dr Luciana de Michelis Mendonça realized very early on in her physical therapy career that something wasn't quite right in the sports physical therapy arena; very few of her women colleagues progressed through the ranks of general training to the specialist field of sports, and even fewer worked at the top level of sports, especially with elite or professional teams. She was determined to drive ch...

Tactical athletes work and cope with injury in complex and often changing environments. In today’s episode, Dr John J Fraser shares his expertise and advice on working with tactical athletes, such as military, fire, and police. He explains the most common injuries, what makes a tactical athlete different than other athletes, how musculoskeletal rehabilitation clinicians can best communicate their...

Frozen shoulder is an enigma characterized by uncertainty, pain, stiffness and disability. It is difficult for patients and clinicians to know how best to manage the symptoms and what is the likely prognosis. In today’s episode, Part 2 of a 2-part series, Prof Jeremy Lewis gives us the low-down on the best evidence for treating frozen shoulder. Manual therapy, injections, exercise therapy: what, w...

Frozen shoulder is an enigma characterized by uncertainty, pain, stiffness and disability. It is difficult for patients and clinicians to know how best to manage the symptoms and what is the likely prognosis. In today’s episode, Part 1 of a 2-part series, you’ll hear ideas about how you might approach assessing a painful and stiff shoulder, and how you might talk with patients to make a decision t...

Professor Nicola Phillips is here to guide us through how to best load the upper extremity after injury. She shares her expertise on how rehabilitation professionals can change the way we prescribe functional exercise to maximize the benefits of how patients learn. She also provides insight into considerations for both short- and long-term programming for an upper limb rehabilitation plan. For mor...

How would you approach diagnosing concussion for an athlete with underlying balance problems? Or for an athlete who is blind? The usual concussion tests simply may not be appropriate. Dr Osman Ahmed is a physical therapist on a mission to improve how athletes receive and experience care after concussion. Tune in to hear all about the work of the Concussion in Para Sport Group. Download the positio...

Join JOSPT Insights hosts Drs Chelsea Cooman, Dan Chapman and Clare Ardern as they revisit their favorite episodes from a jam-packed 2021, from treating ACL injuries and shoulder pain to designing quality rehabilitation for patients with meniscus repair and building authentic connections with patients. Share your favorite episodes on social media using #JOSPTInsights.

Athletes, large and small, old and young, elite and recreational experience low back pain at some time in their sporting lives. So, how do you best help athletes manage their pain, stay healthy and perform to their full potential? Dr Fiona Wilson from Trinity College Dublin shares the latest evidence with the JOSPT community, including the 2021 consensus on preventing and managing low back pain in...

You’ve figured out contributing impairments—now what? Exercise therapy or taping? Foot orthoses or manual therapy? Dr Christian Barton continues his chat with Drs Dan Chapman and Chelsea Cooman in the second episode of our 2-part patellofemoral pain CPG series to share the most effective treatment strategies for reducing pain and improving function. The patellofemoral pain CPG is freely available...

Dr Christian Barton joins Drs Dan Chapman and Chelsea Cooman to dive into the patellofemoral pain CPG published in JOSPT in April 2019. In the first episode of this 2-part series, we hit the highlights of this extensive CPG, including the true definition of patellofemoral pain syndrome, as well as the 4 categories of impairments the CPG lays out to allow for a simplified diagnosis. Dr Barton makes...

When it comes to rehabilitation after ACL injury, return to running can get a bit overshadowed by return to sport. Yet running is a key function milestone for athletes. Why is return to running so important and how do you help set the athlete up for successful return to running? Dr Rich Willy from the University of Montana is here to help.

Profs Lori Michener and Joe Donnelly, Vice President and President, respectively, of the APTA’s Academy of Orthopaedic Physical therapy (AOPT), share the inside track on the AOPT’s new strategic framework, opportunities for grants, and how you can get involved with AOPT. Visit http://www.orthopt.org to find out more about the Academy and its work.

Sports physical therapist Elisa Nédélec heard so many harmful myths about when and how girls and women should play sport that she decided to start a PhD. In today’s episode, Elisa explains why girls and women should stay active, and what research can (and can’t) tell us about the relationship between reproductive hormones and musculoskeletal injury. Elisa co-leads the FAIR-ACL Project with Profess...

In the second episode of our 2-part masterclass on late-phase ACL rehabilitation, Dr Dan Lorenz shares what it means to bring sport specificity to rehab. It’s not about replicating every drill the athlete will do at practice. Rather, Dr Lorenz encourages clinicians to understand how the athlete moves during sport and treat the impairment that’s preventing the athlete from unleashing powerful movem...

In Part 1 of this 2-part podcast, Dr Dan Lorenz joins Drs Dan Chapman and Chelsea Cooman to dig into what quality rehab looks like in the late stages after an ACL reconstruction. Dr Lorenz covers the importance of loading, including where to start, how to load for the demands of the sport, and how it can look different at 4 vs 8 months. He shares his criteria for returning to run, prerunning drill...

A young handball player walks into your clinic tomorrow—she tells you her shoulder pain is bad, and getting worse. What should she do? Sports physical therapist Suzanne Gard is here to help untangle shoulder instability. Tune in for tips on assessing and treating shoulder instability and building strong and supportive lines of communication with youth athletes. The International Federation of Spor...

Dr Caitlin McGee is back for the second of a two-part episode to outline the challenges and opportunities for diversity and inclusion in esports. Like many industries, esports is grappling with a past that did not embrace the rich and diverse gaming community as much as it could have. How is change happening, and who is driving it? Dr McGee is the co-owner and Performance & Esports Medicine Direct...

Ease your way into the billion-dollar esports industry in this first of a two-part episode as Dr Caitlin McGee explains what esports are and the common musculoskeletal problems seen in gamers, then walks through how she approaches an initial clinical evaluation. Dr McGee is the co-owner and Performance & Esports Medicine Director of 1HP, a company that provides health and performance services to e...

Dr Marcie Harris-Hayes joins Drs Dan Chapman and Chelsea Cooman to share her extensive knowledge of hip-related groin pain. We dive into 3 of her papers to get to the bottom of 3 important questions: What counts as hip-related groin pain? Can physical therapy help? Which treatment interventions are most effective for improving function?

2021 has been a big year for trials studying the benefits of different approaches to rehabilitation for rotator cuff–related shoulder pain. Keeping up with the latest research can feel a bit like chasing your tail—today, Professor Lori Michener is here to help! We look at the latest research, explain what it all means, and how to apply it tomorrow in the clinic. GRASP trial: https://pubmed.ncbi.nl...

Join Kate Mahony—sports physical therapist and Head of Performance Health at the New South Wales Institute of Sport—for a post-Olympics wrap-up of the achievements and advocacy of women athletes, clinicians and coaches in sport. Kate shares her tips for supporting women athletes to help them perform at their best and her advice for clinicians who aspire to work in elite sport.

Can you tell a bone stress reaction from a stress fracture? What is safe cross-training for the athlete with bone stress injury? Dr Stuart Warden returns with Drs Chelsea Cooman and Dan Chapman to map out key principles for rehabilitation of low-risk bone stress injuries: (1) manage load, (2) consider healing supplements, (3) maintain fitness, (4) address muscle function, (5) recommence and progre...