JOSPT Insights

Trust is integral to the therapeutic relationship between patients and clinicians in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. But does that trust go both ways?

If you do a deep dive into the literature on trust, you'll find that it almost always talks about whether patients trust clinicians, not if clinicians trust patients. There's also an inherent bias built into the biomedical environment where so called 'objective' tests - the imaging, the bloodwork, the physical performance tests that clinicians administer - are prioritised over patients' lived experience and expertise, which is derided as 'subjective' and somehow less trustworthy.

Today's guests today invite you to join a revolution of starting from a place of trusting people with pain, and acknowledging the patient's expertise.

Joletta Belton is an author, advocate and patient engagement in research specialist, who makes sense of pain through science and stories. Dr Ben Darlow is a physiotherapy specialist and Professor of Primary Health Care at The University of Otago in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

------------------------------

RESOURCES

Do we trust patients in pain viewpoint: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13725

Jo's substack (MyCuppaJo): https://mycuppajo.substack.com/

Framework for establishing connections in physiotherapy practice: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29432058/

Need a refresher on youth sport-related concussion? Today's episode is a rapid review of the epidemiology and best practice for managing youth concussion.

Lisbeth Lund Pedersen (University of Southern Denmark & Danish Society for Sports Physiotherapy) shares the results of the HAAPY study, which involved more than 900 young Danish handball players prospectively recording handball exposure and injuries.

We discuss why female athletes might have a greater concussion risk, and what clinicians can do to promote you athletes' brain health.

------------------------------

RESOURCES

<>Health And Performance Promotion in Youth Sport (HAPPY) study of concussion: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13399

Female, woman and/or girl Athlete Injury pRevention (FAIR) practical recommendations: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41330629/

Consensus statement on concussion in sport: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37316210/

The updated clinical practice guideline for managing hip osteoarthritis landed in late 2025. Today, Dan and Marquis speak with lead author Dr Thomas Koc Jr. to highlight what's new, what's changed and what’s currently considered best practice for hip osteoarthritis. Dr Koc shares the upgraded evidence for dry needling, downgraded evidence for ultrasound, and everything in between.

------------------------------

RESOURCES

Read the CPG yourself here: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.0301

Sleep: we all know it's essential for function in everyday life, and plays an important role in recovery and managing musculoskeletal pain. How much did you learn about assessing and managing sleep dysfunction in your musculoskeletal degree program?

Today, Dr Mark Shepherd (Bellin College) shares practical tips to help you assess sleep, identify common sleep disorders, and incorporate behavioural strategies into your musculoskeletal rehabilitation practice.

------------------------------

RESOURCES

Clinician's guide to assessing and addressing sleep dysfunction in people with musculoskeletal pain: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/josptopen.2025.0198

Spine pain and sleep study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35642567/

UK Biobank study on predictors of persistent pain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37414898/

Systematic review on lack of sleep measures: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37259893/

APTA position paper on the PT’s role in sleep health: https://www.apta.org/apta-and-you/leadership-and-governance/policies/role-pt-apta-sleep-health

DPT students and sleep behaviours: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39425093/

The JOSPT Insights team has been on a hiatus in December. We're very pleased to say we're back and recording new episodes to share with you in 2026. We're back in your feed with new episodes from mid-January. Until then, we're sharing a couple of our most impactful episodes of 2025. Enjoy!

------------------------------

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 specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist. His PhD work in biomechanics has helped guide understanding of how to manage patellofemoral pain.

------------------------------

RESOURCES

Best practice guide for patellofemoral pain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39401870/

Effects of treatment for patellofemoral pain - systematic review with meta-analysis: https://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/jospt.2022.11359

Patellofemoral pain 2019 clinical practice guideline: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2019.0302