JOSPT Insights

Manual therapy is one of those topics that seems to quickly descend to polarised debates in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Today, we're talking about what manual therapy looks like and does in the 2020s.

Dr Jodi Young explains the mechanisms of manual therapy, the typical effects and why you might think about adding manual therapy as another tool in your physical therapy toolkit. Dr Young is the Director of Research for the Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy program at Bellin College in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she mentors doctoral clinicians and helps turn clinical and educational research questions into meaningful, publishable research. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists.

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

RESOURCES

Modern definition and description of manual therapy: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38457654/

Modern way to teach and practice manual therapy: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38773515/

Living review of manual therapy mechanisms: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40100908/

Unravelling the mechanisms of manual therapy: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2018.7476

Developing manual therapy frameworks: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/josptopen.2023.0002

Integrating person-centred concepts and modern manual therapy: https://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/josptopen.2023.0812

How do patients believe manual therapy works? https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/josptopen.2025.0149

Does it matter how you apply spinal manipulation? JOSPT Insights ep 221: https://pod.link/1522929437/episode/NmM0MTg4OGMtODMwMi00ZTA3LTg1NzUtYjY2ZjBiMThiZGUy

After Lindsey Vonn's sad early exit due to injury from the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, it feels like an apt time to revisit the latest consensus on managing knee injury, and supporting return to sport after complex meniscus injury and surgery.

Today, we continue the conversation on the latest consensus for managing acute and degenerative meniscus tears. We jump into non-surgical treatment, and all the return to sport considerations for athletes and active people with meniscus injury. Dr Arielle Giordano (University of Delaware) shares the results of the EU-US Meniscus Rehabilitation Consensus.

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

RESOURCES

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

DREAM trial primary report: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38319181/

Should symptoms guide treatment choice in young patients? https://www.jospt.org/do/10.2519/jospt.blog.20240415/full/

Early surgery vs exercise therapy + education for traumatic and non-traumatic meniscus tears: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2024.12245

Ep 224: Saving the meniscus: https://pod.link/1522929437/episode/NTg3YTgzZWUtYTZjZC00ZDYwLWI2OTAtYTczMzAzNTEyNzgz

Ep 192: DREAMing of better care for meniscus tears: https://pod.link/1522929437/episode/Yzk2YzkyOWItMDk1MS00YWZkLWI2MjQtNmRlYjIwZGJmOTg0

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