We're often asking or answering the question "why?" in clinical practice. Why does it hurt? Why does this treatment give me relief? Why is the problem not getting better? Sometimes it's easy to answer why, and sometimes it's not.

In today's episode, Dr Damian Keter (US Department of Veterans Affairs) explores and explains musculoskeletal treatment mechanisms. Dr Keter suggests some ways to approach responding to the why question, even when the treatment mechanism isn't clear. He shares his perspectives on person-centered care and precision medicine.

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RESOURCES

Understanding musculoskeletal treatment mechanisms: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2026.14486

Person-centered care and modern manual therapy: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/josptopen.2023.0812

The case for treatment pluralism: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2026.13992

Sequenced care pathway vs. pain navigator pathway for veterans with low back pain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41926124/