JOSPT Insights

Protecting the health of our best and brightest stars of the future holds a special place in Dr Jackie Whittaker's heart. How do you ensure youth athletes stay healthy and happy in sport, and what do you do if it goes pear-shaped? Dr Whittaker shares her tips, honed from years of clinical practice and field-leading research, on planning and managing return to sport after serious knee injury. Find the International Olympic Committee's paediatric ACL consensus statement at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29478021/

In Part 2 of our 2-episode interview, Dr Merv Travers walks through his experience of musculoskeletal trauma (and Lego), and the questions to ask patients about their beliefs and experiences of chronic pain. Dr Travers implores clinicians to adopt an anti-fragile mindset—placing exercise and movement at the top of the priority list for people with chronic pain.

Physical therapist, researcher, and strength & conditioning coach Dr Merv Travers kicks off Part 1 of a 2-episode dive into managing chronic pain by discussing what is known about using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for managing chronic pain. He shares how clinicians can rethink their approach to managing chronic pain to best help patients. Stay tuned for Part 2, available on Monday, December 7th.

Dr Stephanie Mathieson (Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney) is sounding the alarm and tackling the super-wicked problem of opioid prescription. She covers the opioid epidemic, why communication within the multidisciplinary team is critical to helping patients manage pain, and how musculoskeletal clinicians can be part of the solution to overuse of medicines. Dr Mathieson's work is nested in the WISER Healthcare collaboration, a leading multidisciplinary research collaboration focused on reducing overdiagnosis and overtreatment in health care.

Physical therapist, researcher, and runner Dr Jean-Francois Esculier, PT, PhD, from The Running Clinic and the University of British Columbia, is on a mission to help runners avoid injuries and perform well. Dr Esculier shares his views on choosing the right running shoes, including how he classifies shoes as minimalist or maximalist based on shoe weight, stack height, heel-to-toe drop, technology, and flexibility. We dive into the research on running shoes, changing a runner's gait, and how to apply the research in clinical practice. Physical therapist, runner, and JOSPT social media editor Paul Blazey asks the questions on today's episode.

It's time to put shoulder special tests out to pasture. In this episode, Drs Dan Chapman and Chelsea Cooman talk with Prof Jeremy Lewis and Dr Paul Salamh about their recent JOSPT Viewpoint article on the treatment of rotator cuff–related shoulder pain. Prof Lewis and Dr Salamh argue why imaging and shoulder special tests won’t help you identify structures that are contributing to symptoms, then lay out what a shoulder examination looks like without special tests and how to begin treatment.

Musculoskeletal disorders are the number one contributor to the number of years lived with disability, and osteoarthritis—which affects over 300 million people across the world—is one of the top contributors to global disability. Chances are, you have treated a patient with knee pain this week. So how did you approach that clinical session? Patients might ask for your advice when they are making a decision about knee surgery—what do you tell them? Professor Ewa Roos, international leader in exercise-based osteoarthritis care, joins JOSPT Insights to answer these questions and share her thoughts.

How much do you know about the social and economic factors that influence health? Did you know that the social determinants of health are central drivers of health inequities? Orthopaedic physical therapy leader Professor Chad Cook helps unmask the characteristics and factors that play a key role in how people access and experience health care. We look at what the social determinants of health are and why clinicians should care about them, then do a quick wrap-up of research on social determinants of musculoskeletal health.

Dr Amy Arundale, physical therapist and biomechanist with the Brooklyn Nets, gives you the low down on why you want to add clinical practice guidelines to your reading list. Guest host Dr Karen Litzy of Karen Litzy Physical Therapy and the Healthy Wealthy & Smart podcast asks the questions, diving into the knee and anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention guideline that Dr Arundale led, published in JOSPT in 2018, and exploring why Dr Arundale is a strong advocate for educating, collaborating, and consistently following up with athletes.

Are you spending your time reading worthwhile research articles? How can you tell if you should be integrating the findings into your practice? In this episode, Dr Chelsea Cooman and Dr Dan Chapman talk with Prof Steven Kamper about how to evaluate articles and how best to use the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). They also quiz Dr Kamper, in a lightning round, on research concepts that he covers in his Evidence in Practice series in JOSPT. Finally, Dr Kamper tackles the question, "Is evidence-based practice simply cookbook medicine?"