The Physio Pulse Podcast

A little bit of a different format this week.We discuss the articles we have each recently written for MSK Mag (by Physio Matters). The argument for an MSK only degree, and why being nice is detrimental for us as a profession.This was great to revisit and explore in a little more free-flowing detail.We highly recommend checking out MSK Mag, not for us, but for the tonnes of high quality authors who explore all issues and conditions concerning MSK health!

This week, Jeff and James talk internal / external focus of attention in ACL testing, ramble unnecessarily about isokinetic dynamometry and testing philosophy.

This week....We discuss the Bender et al paper from 2023 Does Your Bedside Neurological Examination for Suspected Peripheral Neuropathies Measure https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2022.11281and...Jeff debriefs about his recent BASK conferenceJames has some nerdy nerve facts

This week we discuss similar cases we have experienced regarding Achilles tendinopathies and ruptures associated with certain types of antibiotics.Please note, this episode is not intended to be medical advice.

This week- Jeff opens a beer- James has a case study- We get into the weird world of scapula's Does scapula movement matter? and if so, when?We look at the 2026 Villa-Dieguez et al paper Clinicians who think scapular dyskinesis is important are more likely to identify it in healthy individualshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12929090/

A little bit of a different approach this week, we look to a clinical commentary on rehabilitation following a CAM resection in people who also have 'borderline' hip dysplasia.We spend the first half hour going over some basic principles which are fundamental to our critiques, before going over the protocol itself.Please note, nothing in this episode is intended to be medical advice.Find the paper we are discussing HERE

This week we look at a large 2026 Meta Analysis comparing arthritis rates in ACL reconstruction vs conservatively management!- Is there a long term difference in OA rates?- What predicts higher levels of OA?Shah et al 2026 - The Long-term Radiographic Fate of theChronically ACL-Deficient Knee: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Matched Cohort StudiesDOI: 10.1177/03635465251405438

In this episode we discuss the pros and cons of Masters level education, particularly as it applies to job progression within the NHS before moving on to a case study of James' that is all about medial foot pain!Please note, this episode is not intended to give any medical advice.

Today on Physio pulse we discuss the 2026 "PROP OA" studyThe largest study looking at bracing for knee OA https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj-2025-086005

Arthroscopic subacromial decompression has cost healthcare systems billions over the decades. No trial to date has demonstrated superiority of this surgery over placebo surgery or an exercise based approach.We run through 10 year results of the FIMPACT trial and discuss... should this surgery still be offered?Please note, this episode is not intended to act as medical advice.

We've had loads of new followers and we thought this week it would be great to revisit one of our first ever episodes looking at the RESTORE trial. CFT treatment for chronic lower back painWe hope you enjoy!

Today we discuss an interesting 2026 paper looking at long term outcomes for Cross Bracing ACL ruptures. DOI: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000001416What is cross bracing?Where did it come from?How does it compare to surgery in an athletic population?

Jeff has been waiting a while to discuss this paper that has been widely shared by a high impact journal (BJSM) and appears to have gained a lot of attention since its publication.Are we justified in heavily critiquing this paper? Are we taking crazy pills?! Is the spin in the abstract a cause for concern and something we should rightly be angry about?Have a read for yourself and let us know your thoughts: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/9/501

In this episode, we speak with Jack Chew. A huge figure in the world of Physiotherapy Jack reflects on his rapid early career, including becoming the youngest Band 8a Physiotherapist.We then explore the origins of the MSK Reform Movement. Why it emerged, what it set out to challenge, and the resistance it encountered, before discussing Jack’s subsequent move into the CSP, and what he learned trying to enact change from within the system.The conversation finishes by looking forward: what physiotherapy needs to confront, what must change, and how the profession can remain relevant, credible, and fit for the future.This is an honest discussion about professional power, evidence, scope of practice, and leadership, and it’s essential listening for MSK physios, educators, managers, and anyone invested in the future of physiotherapy.We hope you enjoy!Jacks Own Words From Inside the CSPhttps://mskmag.substack.com/p/how-the-sausage-is-made-insights

This week we host the amazing S+C professor, author and coach Dan Cleather to discuss concepts from his lesser talked about books 'The Little Black Book of Training Wisdom' and 'Subvert' (Jeff and James' favourite).Topics include philosophy of science through an anarchist lens, fundamental concepts in coaching people and why Dan is cautious when it comes to adopting language associated with Dynamic Systems Theory.We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!You can find Dan at @dancleather on IG and most definitely search for his books on Amazon!

This week....Jeff causes a PR nightmare for Physio Pulse on social media...How should Physio courses better prepare students for MSK work?We discuss ACL limb symmetry index, is there a better way we can be testing this? or WHEN we test this - https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2017.7285

This week we have an honest discussion about the importance of NOT using some words when chatting with patients, alongside some discussion on how to balance empathy and understanding without losing the clarity of our messages.Please note, this episode is not intended to provide medical advice.

First episode of 2026 - Jeff celebrates reading the right paper - James reminisces about turkey sandwiches We are looking at the 2025 paper - Sprint running mechanics are associated with hamstring strain injury: a 6-month prospective cohort study of 126 elite male footballers

It's the end of the year, and as is tradition (i.e. it's what we did last year) we answer some listener questions, discuss different topics around the MSK world and James drinks some wine.

Our last episode before christmas! Hot off the press and only a month old, published in November 2025 What can we learn about the types of sport people try to return to after rotator cuff repairs. Do overhead athletes struggle more? and what are the risk factors for failure to return to sport?

This weeks guest is Dr. Jarred Boyd, head of physical therapy at the Memphis Grizzlies and an expert in critical thinking when it comes to reasoning out rehabilitation.In this episode, we dive straight into how Jarred uses dynamic systems theory, the theory of affordances and attractor states in his clinical reasoning. We have a post on our instagram page to explain these terms a little more however if you don't have the time and are unfamiliar, ask chatGPT to give you a rundown!This is an incredible episode that we guarantee you will pick new things up from if you listen back.Make sure to give Jarred a follow on social media and check out his episodes on other podcast platforms as there is a lot of topics we didn't even attempt to discuss with him already doing such a great job on those! (Forward Physio, E3 Rehab, Rethinking Rehab)

This week James and Jeff tread the tightrope of Physiotherapy...Plenty of clowning about...A circus acrobat with 8 months of worsening big toe painWhat are your differentials? Would you investigate?How would you treat this?When does surgery become the right option?

We dive into a placebo comparison paper for the GLAD programme which has been growing over the past few years as a structured exercise approach to manage osteoarthritis.How does it shape up to open label placebo injections? What are our thoughts on the nuances of the study, and the positives / negatives of the GLAD programme?Please note, nothing in this episode is intended to be medical advice.

We know that a most conditions will improve or fluctuate with time, but how much does that effect research outcomes?To help answer this we are looking at the 2024 paper - Regression to the mean for physical function and quality of life in clinical trials for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis - Martin Englund and Aleksandra Turkiewicz- What is regression to the mean?- How can we measure it?- How does this effect research outcomes?- What does this mean for us and our patients?

A little bit of a different episode this week! Instead of talking through a paper we sit down to discuss our thoughts on Ben Patrick, otherwise known online as 'Knees Over Toes Guy'; a hugely successful movement with the aim to help people get out of pain.Athletic Truth Group is the name of Ben Patrick's business that has emerged from this training philosophy that appears to be doing really well based off a simple message of de-threatening knees going over toes in exercise for people with knee pain.We ask: Who is Ben Patrick?How has he become so influential?What are the strengths of his approach?What are the drawbacks of his approach?How could his approach be improved?What are we doing differently now as a result of our deep dive into this approach?This was a great discussion, and one we hope you will find useful if you are unsure on your feelings about the ATG movement!

This week we discuss the 2022 Van Der Graff paper Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus physical therapy for traumatic meniscal tears in a young study population: a randomised controlled trialWhat are the long term outcomes for these patients between the two groups and what can we take forward to help our patients make the best choice for them?https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9304087/#s4

This week we chat through a paper that looked at surgeons answers to questions on knee osteoarthritis compared to ChatGPT. Who comes out on top?How can AI be used in healthcare?How would you fare against AI at the end of a long day?Are James and Jeff progressive thinkers or old at heart in their early 30's?Find the paper here: https://www.thekneejournal.com/article/S0968-0160(25)00065-1/abstractPlease note, nothing in this episode is intended to be medical advice.

We review a paper with 5200 participants that tried to answer how best to analyse someones risk of injury with training load.It's been making the rounds on social media, what does it actually show and how can we use this information clinically?Please note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/59/17/1203.full.pdf

This week we look at the new paper "The effect of exercise time and frequency on the development of cam morphology" by M. Baldawi et al 2025 https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-025-08603-1What do we know about the development of CAM morphology?How do we define it?Could they be useful to athletes?

In this episode we sit down to discuss a really interesting paper all about how stability is produced in the glenohumeral joint. Concavity compression or Intrinsic muscle stiffness? Rotator cuff or larger muscle groups?We go through the mechanisms and basic biomechanical considerations of this before discussing what we think this papers findings mean in clinical practice.Use the comment function below to engage and ask any questions!Please note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10439-025-03683-5

We're back for series 2!! New logo but unfortunately for you, same hosts... This week we're running through the brand new CALMER Cuff pathway from Fayh et al 2025. - How should we manage cuff tears?- How does surgery compare to conservative management?- How do we discuss this with our patients?https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13342?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

That's us for the first half of 2025... holidays, babies and house moves keeping us busy over the next couple of months. James and Jeff crack a few beers, have a few rants, offend a few nations and answer listener questions.

We answer a question from a listener about the benefit of NHS versus private practice as a new graduate before going on discuss a recent randomised controlled trial comparing manual therapy to exercise therapy in the management of persistent neck pain.Finally we go on to discuss some of our considerations with managing people with neck pain.Please note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.

We run through a presentation of shin pain that seems to evade any usual diagnosis. Please note, nothing in this episode is intended as medical advice.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Ben Whybrow the host of the Clinical Communication Podcast to discuss...- Communication tips- Difficult conversations - How to handle conflict ... and cake...Hope you enjoy!

James is back and reminding Jeff this isn't an ACL podcast... Today we are discussing the famous GRASP trial looking at Education, Progressive Exercise and Steroid injections for RCRSP. What are the true take aways from this study? Don't forget to check out Jeff's upcoming live webinar on his Instagram page

James was off climbing in the Alps this week so Jeff seized the opportunity to talk more ACL with Mr. ACL himself, Fin Murphy, without the usual judgement from James about how this might be becoming a lower limb podcast!We cover everything to do with rehab considerations of the big 3 donor sites for ACL rehab. Great practical takeaways throughout this one!Please note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.

Dylan Carmody joins us this week to talk to us about: Anatomical and Functional considerations we need to understand when rehabilitating the calf complexWhat objective tests we can use to help guide our rehabilitation and adviceRehabilitation tips and tricksJames' cross sectionally challenged calves.Check out his amazing value calf force profiling book here!

This week we are discussing the new secondary analysis of the KANON study from this year...Do conservatively managed ACL's that show healing actually get better outcomes long term?https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03635465251339061?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org

This week we discuss one of Jeff's go-to papers on everything to do with meniscectomy. We also touch on high tibial osteotomy and chondral cartilage surgery!This is the last week of Jeff's launch sale for 'The Force Awakens: How to REALLY use biomechanics in clinical practice' - enter code LAUNCH20 at the checkout through the link in his instagram bio!Find the paper we discussed on this episode HEREPlease note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.

Apologies for missing last week...But we are back with one of James' favourite ever studies looking at sham exercise vs strengthening for GTPSDefinitely a study that raises a lot of talking points, hope you enjoy!

This week we are re-releasing our first ever proper episode on two RCT's exploring the question of whether there is a difference between ACL reconstruction and non-operative management!Please note, this epidsode does not constitute medical advice.

We're always told to avoid dorsiflexion with insertional Achilles tendinopathies, but is this accurate?We discuss the 2025 paper - Effectiveness of reducing tendon compression in the rehabilitation of insertional Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised clinical trialhttps://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/9/640.long

Jeff discusses a rationale he can see to justify the use of a bosu ball, despite not actually using them himself!Paper for affordances and chronic pain HERE Embodied pain HEREEnactive biopsychosocial model HEREPlease note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.

James presents a case study of a patient who came to see him with bilateral knee pains, but all is not as it seems...

Jeff shares his most successful prank on James, and we talk about injections for tennis elbow with some good talking points around placebo / contextual effects and open science.Please note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.

Today on Physio pulse James has some beefJeff ruins a shirt We dive into the world of blood flow restriction training for knee OA with the very recent Jacobs et al 2025 paper making the rounds on social media.

This week we dip our toe into the political space and accompany this with the first meta-analysis investigating socioeconomic status and chronic pain.Jeff has an apology to make for the listeners and gets excited about a funnel plot (he's not got much going on right now).James keeps conversation on track as the more politically aware of the two of us and makes this a passable episode.Please note, this episode does not constitute medical advice.

Struggle to get your head around the ascending and descending pathways? And what even is pain gate?? Well in our clinical pearl episode this week James gives a quick overview in 6 minutesHope you enjoy!

Today on the Physio Pulse we had the pleasure of speaking with Joe Palmer who is a lecturer and researcher working in Sheffield and was in the first cohort of clinicians who moved into the First Contact Physiotherapy roles. We speak about the realities of lecturing and research, the trials and tribulations of FCP and how to get clinicians to fall in love with stats. Hope you enjoy!Click here for a link to the statistics book Joe mentioned!