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.

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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!

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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.

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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

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!

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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 therapy leads on the project, and today she shares the most important messages from the consensus.

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RESOURCES

EU‐US Meniscus Rehabilitation 2024 Consensus - Rehabilitation after meniscus surgery: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/josptopen.2025.0162

EU-US Meniscus Rehabilitation 2024 Consensus - Prevention, non‐operative treatment and return to sport: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/josptopen.2025.13539

Calf strains are challenging for athletes and clinicians to manage—with uncertain return to play times and risks for reinjury if they're not managed well.

Dr Brady Green (University of Notre Dame, Perth, Australia) shares his research and clinical expertise on muscle strains in elite and subelite athletes, including from his previous work in elite Australian football at the Essendon Football Club.

Today's episode launches from Dr Green's latest study of the epidemiology of calf strains, and discusses how musculoskeletal rehabilitation specialists, including sports physical therapists, can use this information to guide their practice.

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RESOURCES

Gastrocnemius muscle strain injury epidemiology: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13526

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 can improve both communication and care.

They discuss how imaging often fails to match symptoms, why language matters for patient engagement, and how clinicians can explain shoulder pain without over-pathologizing.

Take home messages:

1. RCRSP reflects the multifactorial nature of shoulder pain, biological, mechanical, and psychosocial.

2. Clear and non-anatomic terminology helps patients understand and buy into treatment.

3. Future research should clarify mechanisms behind exercise and refine subgroups within RCRSP.

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RESOURCES

The case for using "rotator cuff-related shoulder pain" in practice: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13405

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 Seth Peterson explores how local opinion leaders—those trusted voices within clinical settings—can play a pivotal role in translating research into practice. Dr Peterson shares practical strategies for fostering cultures of learning and supporting clinicians to lead.

Dr Peterson is a clinician-researcher based in Tucson, Arizona. He leads care at his clinic, The Motive, and teaches nationally with The Movement Brainery.

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RESOURCES

Empowering local opinion leaders in physical therapy systems: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13508

Why higher standards are needed in physical therapist professional development: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2022.11377

2025 hip osteoarthritis clinical practice guideline: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.0301

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 you talk with athletes about their condition. She discusses loading, red flags and the role of running retraining.

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RESOURCES

Diagnosing medial tibial stress syndrome (including flow diagram): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28179260/

Re-naming MTSS as Load Induced Medial Leg Pain (LIMP): https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13411

Effectiveness of running gait retraining - systematic review: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2022.10585

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 this means for your clinical practice.

Jess is an experienced pelvic health physiotherapist and PhD candidate at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. She has extensive experience working with performing artists, and recently led a systematic review investigating the epidemiology of pelvic floor symptoms in performing artists.

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RESOURCES

Prevalence and impact of pelvic floor symptoms systematic review: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13452

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 changes.

Today, Dr Chris Bise (Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh) explains the changing face of health care funding, and what it means for the physical therapist. Chris has 25 years of experience as a physical therapist and health system analyst who studies value-based health care and physical therapy practice - trying to find better ways of funding health care to deliver outcomes that satisfy patients, clinicians and payers.

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RESOURCES

Building the foundation for value-based physical therapy: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13586

Perspectives for Payers - Heel pain/plantarfasciopathy: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.0502

Perspectives for Payers - Achilles tendinopathy: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.0503

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.

Today in part 2, we take things a step further to explore how you decide what "worthwhile" really means. Worth it for whom? The patient, your clinic, the health system, or even society?

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RESOURCES

From whose perspective is cost-effectiveness judged?: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6351264/

Review of health economics evaluations in hip and knee orthopaedics: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34262974/